One Night In Bangkok
by attheendoftheday
Summary: Successful, secretive Bella Swan meets up with her high school crush, Dr. Edward Cullen, at a Medical Convention. What she has been working on will rock his world... What will happen after their night in a magical fantasy land? AU/AH, BxE. Lemons, Cursing
1. One Night in Bangkok

**Disclaimer:**** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**One Night In Bangkok ( Bella )**

I shuffled our product catalogues back into a neat stack and flicked a speck off the cloth covering my company's display stand in the exhibitor's hall attached to the annual International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine. I glanced at the clusters of doctors and hospital administrators talking to our temporary sale staff and then discreetly checked my watch and sighed with relief when I saw we only had another hour to schmooze our way through until the hall closed. Angela Webber bounced up to my side and playfully jostled my elbow with an expectant smile brightening her, normally, serious expression.

"So… Are you going to wear it?" Angela prompted eagerly.

"Thanks to your husband, I have to wear it." I sighed glumly. "How could he have picked up the wrong bag?"

Angela, Ben Cheney and I had flown in to Las Vegas too early that morning and Ben had grabbed the wrong beaten-up duffle bag off the luggage carousal in his haste to meet me and Angela at the car hire window. I had been contacted by the airline at nine o'clock to explain that I had, inadvertently, taken someone's dirty laundry in exchange for the demure, easy-care business wardrobe I had packed for our four day Symposium. Angela had dragged me to the hotel's boutique to buy an outfit for the evening's Opening Gala Evening and I had found myself buying a backless, silk top with spaghetti straps that tied around my neck and low on my waist. Angela had pressed me into buying slim fitting black skirt that coordinated with the black ballet flats I was already wearing but that I thought sat too low on my hips and my outfit had been complete.

"You are going to look fuck-hot gorgeous." Angela Webber, the sweet pastor's daughter, assured me wickedly.

"M'kay, sure." I grouched quietly. "Heads up, Ang…" I warned her that we had more incoming, potential customers to see when I saw a flicker of movement at our display stand in my peripheral vision.

"Dr. Cullen! Mrs. Cullen!" Angela greeted brightly as she spun to address the glamorous couple. "Angela Webber…" She reintroduced herself with her outstretched hand.

"Of course, Pastor Webber's daughter." Mrs. Cullen returned warmly. "You were in the same year as our Edward and Alice."

"Yes, I was…" Angela confirmed brightly. "And so was my husband, Ben Cheney, and our friend and colleague, Bella Swan." She reminded Mrs. Cullen.

I stepped forward to shake the Cullens' hands when Angela moved her explanatory wave from Ben to me before I immediately excused myself when a sales rep discreetly beckoned me to her side. I was kept busy for the next hour until it was time to pack up our stall and rush back to our rooms to get ready for the symposium's opening evening Gala dinner.

"Mrs. Cullen said what they thought was a family reunion has turned into a Forks High reunion." Angela told me as joined the queue of exhibitors crowding out of the large space. "Alice Cullen is in charge of coordinating the whole symposium for the Hotel. Emmett McCarty is here with the Seattle Fire Department as a part of the round table discussion on transporting the critically ill. Rosalie Hale is here, with Emmett, for the talks about ICU nursing. Jasper Whitlock is leading the seminars on preparedness for the next pandemic. Edward Cullen is giving one of the talks on resuscitation fluids and Lactate versus Acetate." She gossiped happily.

"I am going to get happily smashed tonight. I have to drink our tickets' price in cocktails." Ben informed me and Angela cheerfully with little care about the news of our old high school classmates.

I pushed into the jammed lift with Angela and Ben and smiled apologetically at the tall guy I was pressed up against before I quietly lost myself in my remembered fantasies of the cool, aloof Edward Cullen. I had started at Forks High halfway through my junior year and resigned myself to skimming through the rest of my high school years with my sole aim to stay off the social radar of the small town school and its intricate politics. My first Biology class, on my first day, had rocked my low key plans when I had found myself sitting next to the distant and impossibly beautiful Edward Cullen. Suddenly, I had wanted to overachieve in my science class so I could keep up with the clever, sexy boy-man who could turn my body and brain into formless puddles of goo with just one distracted, careless smile.

"Eighth floor." Angela interrupted my daydream. "See you outside the ballroom in one hour. I'll need to see makeup, Bella." She warned me seriously.

"Sure… I can do makeup." I agreed with a wan smile. "Ballroom. One hour." I added over my shoulder as I squeezed out of the lift.

I tiredly let myself into my room and impotently glared at the shopping bag from the downstairs boutique mocking me from the middle of my king-size bed before I stripped out of my clothes and hurried for the shower.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

I hid near a fern out of the path of the stream of participants and exhibitors flowing into the ballroom as I scanned the moving crowd for Angela and Ben. I felt a jolt in the pit of my stomach when I caught a glimpse of the still familiar, artlessly tousled bronze hair of Edward Cullen and flicked my eyes away before he could catch me, like he always used to, ogling him from afar. I stood on my tiptoes to look again for Angela and smiled when I finally saw her exiting the lifts with Ben and immediately left my obscured nook to weave through the eager Gala attendees to intersect their slow path.

"Bella Swan!" A light, female voice froze me in mid-step.

I turned a polite smile in my distraction's direction and gulped when I saw Alice Cullen smiling brightly at me from under Jasper Whitlock's arm. I gamely turned towards her as the people flocking towards the ballroom eddied around the block we were causing in the middle of the doors. I smiled at Emmett McCarty, Rosalie Hale and Jasper and then forced myself to retain my assured smile as I briefly met Edward's cool, jade eyes.

"Alice Cullen." I responded smoothly and offered my hand for her to shake.

"Whitlock. I'm Alice Whitlock now." Alice corrected me brightly.

"Congratulations." I immediately returned and fought not to blush at my social gaffe. "To both of you." I added lamely.

"Thank you, Bella." Jasper murmured and I heard he had kept a faint twang of his southern accent.

"You'll make me feel homesick, all over again, Jasper Whitlock." I joked as I fought not to crane my head to look desperately for Angela and Ben to rescue me. "Whenever I overheard you in the Forks High cafeteria I wanted to order an ice cold glass of syrupy lemonade and a moon pie." I rambled stupidly but won a laugh from the laidback Jasper.

I squeaked when someone stroked their finger down my bare back and I spun around and immediately glowered at Ben even as I quickly hugged Angela. I obediently stood still when Angela stepped back and pursed her lips as she scanned my outfit, hair and makeup and I uneasily smoothed back the wisps of hair that had already worked free from my chignon when she didn't comment.

"You'll do." Angela shrugged eventually. "You know, Bella… They make this stuff, I think it's called lipstick, that some women like to wear when they go out." She criticized obnoxiously.

"I'm wearing lip gloss, fuck you very much." I grouched quietly.

"Chapstick is _not_ lip gloss, Bella." Angela snipped back instantly and made Alice giggle. "Hey, Alice. Hey, Rosalie… Um, you two aren't allowed to stand next to me, 'kay?" She complimented the two stunning women jokingly.

"You have a tattoo, Bella." Emmett McCarty told me seriously.

"What?" I demanded with feigned shock and then craned my head over my shoulder to check my back. "Please tell me it's not a tramp stamp." I pleaded.

"You know, Ang…" Ben told Angela thoughtfully. "I would never have fallen in love with you if I'd known your best friend is such a bratty, smartass. Bella, you have to play nice tonight, 'kay honey?" He added condescendingly and made our old Forks High classmates laugh.

"M'kay, sure." I purred sweetly. "Thank you, Emmett. I do have a tattoo. I got it done the summer I turned twenty-one. It took three hours and hurt… a lot. I'm sorry for being touchy about it tonight. I don't usually flash it around but Ben 'how hard is it to check a tag' Cheney picked up the wrong luggage at the airport this morning and so I had to buy an outfit here and they didn't have much in my size." I apologized to Emmett sincerely but couldn't resist a jab at Ben.

"It looks nice." Emmett offered politely.

"Thank you." I exhaled and smiled warmly at him to make up for my earlier brattiness.

"Shall we head in?" Edward asked his friends disinterestedly.

I smiled unhappily at Angela when the others chorused their assent and turned towards the ballroom before I caught my breath and whipped my head around to stare up at Edward when he placed his cool hand against my back. I held his jade eyes with growing awe as I caught the hint of vanilla, cinnamon and jasmine in his subtle cologne and as the first snap of energy I felt at his touch settle in a slow burn under his palm. Edward broke the spell he had cast on me when he smiled at Ben and Angela and gestured for them to lead us into the transformed ballroom.

"My mom very excitedly told me that she had run into you this afternoon." Edward murmured quietly.

"Yes. She stopped at our stand with Dr. Cullen… There wasn't actually a collision." I joked stupidly in my nervousness.

Edward flashed a small smile at my lame joke and then guided me gently towards where Alice and Jasper had stopped next to Dr. and Mrs. Cullen near one of the small bars. I belatedly looked around the ballroom and smiled in wonder at how its edges had been transformed to look like a Bangkok street market with street vendor carts serving typical Thai snacks and small bars designed to look like all night soup stalls. I smiled at Dr. and Mrs. Cullen and then continued to scan around the magical space.

"I get it now... 'One Night in Bangkok'… This looks just like Sukhumvit in Bangkok." I murmured distractedly. "I thought the theme was going to be based on the musical 'Chess'… because of the song." I confessed to no one in particular.

I gasped when I got tackled by Alice in a constricting bear hug and I widened my eyes at Edward and mouthed 'help' only half jokingly. I smiled uncertainly at Alice when Edward had freed me from her vice like arms as he chuckled softly before I peeked at Jasper and saw his indulgent smile at his wife.

"Thank you, Bella. I wanted it to look authentic, you know." Alice bubbled and bounced on her toes with her excitement as she looked around her created wonderland.

I smiled when a martini appeared over my shoulder and then turned carefully to accept my drink from Ben with a pretty smile. I smiled at Emmett as he returned with Rosalie and passed Edward, Jasper and Alice their drinks. I saw Rosalie and Angela were sipping my favorite cocktail and I winked at the two girls as I took a tentative sip of the fruity vodka drink.

"Ah, that hits the G-Spot." I sighed contentedly with my quiet joke.

Angela widened her eyes at me and then rolled them towards where Dr. and Mrs. Cullen were watching me with matching, faintly surprised expressions.

"Oh, um, sorry. It's a G-Spot Martini… I was trying to be funny." I apologized awkwardly. "It has citrus Vodka, grapefruit juice, apple juice and a dash of orange liqueur. It's really tasty." I listed my cocktail's ingredients in an attempt distract everyone.

"I told them to use their cheapest vodka, Bella, because I know you like it rough." Ben upped our ante of inappropriate jokes.

I snorted a laugh as I decided that enough damage had already been laid down in front of the Cullen family and our old high school classmates that Ben and I couldn't shock them any more with our usual snippy banter. I smiled with wide eyed innocence back into Emmett McCarty's assessing look before I narrowed my eyes briefly at Ben and then cast my eyes coolly around the ballroom. I was startled back to our small group when Edward gently covered my hand holding my cocktail and carefully raised my glass to his sinful lips to sample my drink. Edward trapped my eyes with his dark gaze and I felt my pulse jump and a faint blush heat my cheeks as I stood like a gauche sixteen year old in front of my old high school crush.

"You have a tattoo, Bella." Dr. Carlisle told me quietly.

Angela jabbed me in the side, just under my tattoo of the Buddhist prayer inked in Tibetan script down my ribs, with her pointy elbow and I puffed out my breath and grabbed my waist even as I glared at Angela.

"Yes, sir. I do have a tattoo." I confirmed politely as I smiled sweetly at Dr. Cullen.

"What does it say? Why did you get it?" Rosalie Hale asked curiously.

"Bella was rebelling against her nerd label." Angela answered for me helpfully. "I think it's kind of hot that, under her white lab coat and geek glasses, she's a try-hard badass." She joked lightly.

I turned and arched one eyebrow disbelievingly at Angela as I sipped my cocktail before I sidled into her intimate personal space zone and moved my mouth close to her ear.

"Ang, if I have to play nice, you have to play nice." I breathed so only she would hear my words.

I leaned my head back to look into Angela's eyes and I held her dark brown, almost black, eyes intently until I saw a wicked light dance into her gaze and I caught my bottom lip in my teeth to hide my smile when she shrugged minutely. I raised my glass slowly to my mouth as I held Angela's dancing eyes before we both drained our cocktails in one long swallow and shook our heads against the smooth burn of the expensive alcohol. Angela plucked my empty glass out of my hand and spun to get us another drink and I turned slowly back to our informal grouping of old acquaintances and smiled extra innocently.

"Oh, fuck." Ben sighed dramatically. "Hold on for the ride, everybody, there's mischief in the making. If this ends the way it always does, we'll all find ourselves waking up in Vegas." He joked with pretended resignation.

I laughed softly and winked at Alice's anticipatory smile as she drained her bright blue cocktail and turned to whisper to Jasper. Jasper nodded easily and drained his own drink before he pointed questioningly around at everyone's drinks in a silent request for their drinks orders before he turned to quickly follow Angela. I peeked sideways at Edward and caught him staring at my profile and I fidgeted with the too low waistband of my skirt before I forced myself to stand still and not fuss at my clothes.

"Edward? Do you know what a cygnet is?" Dr. Cullen asked his son nonchalantly.

"A baby swan." Edward answered with a strange look at his father.

"Yes… A Swan's baby." Dr. Cullen paraphrased and gave away the secret behind my company.

I blushed faintly and pretended to look for Angela and our drinks as I sensed Edward freeze beside me and I flicked a quick peek at Ben and saw that he was appearing to casually scan the far side of the room with no interest in Dr. Cullen's revelation.

"I don't get it…" Emmett muttered into the tense silence that suffocated our group.

"It's not a joke, Em…" Edward explained softly. "There's a company, Cygnet Biotechnologies, that no one has been able to find any real information about… except that they have an office in Seattle but are based in South America. There is a parent company, Cygnus… Fuck, that's the genus name for Swan… There's a parent company, Cygnus, whose trail ends in the Cayman Islands. And there's a shady lawyer, J. Jenks, based in Seattle but that's as far as you can get when you're researching Cygnet Biotechnologies. This is the first industry event that Cygnet Biotechnologies has ever been seen at… And everyone was disappointed that they only sent a team of young sales reps. Sales reps that are eager to take people's orders for their current products but who know nothing about what products Cygnet is working on bringing to market next." Edward detailed and sounded awestruck.

"What products do they currently sell?" Rosalie asked and I could feel her sharp eyes on my serene façade as I continued to scan for Angela.

"They have a bio-skin that has finally been released after its clinical trials here in the US… It's going to revolutionize burn treatments. The fabric is applied to the wound and then you colonize the patient's own skin cells over the fabric to grow your skin graft. It has all the benefits of an immediate old-school graft using skin from another site but with the results of using lab grown skin that, previously, took too long to use in acute cases. It's… It's turned our world upside down." Edward murmured as he raked his hand through his hair.

"What products are you working on bringing to market next?" Emmett asked bluntly.

I flashed my eyes across to meet Emmett's steel blue gaze before I glanced at Ben who was curiously tracing the lines of Thai signs hanging from the ceiling and then I returned to my search for Angela.

"There are whispers that they have a synthetic blood replacement in the works." Edward repeated the rumors I had heard today. "They already have a new, modified Lactated Ringer's solution stuck in fucking clinical trials that has an additional ingredient that enhances a targeted perfusion and oxygenation of ischemic tissues."

"Alice? Do you know much about Steam Punk culture?" I asked breezily. "This ballroom would make an awesome airship." I murmured inanely as I turned in a slow circle to take in the entire ballroom.

"I haven't read many steam-punk novels… I like Abney Park. They have a cool sound and I like the back story they created for their band." Alice replied as she looked appraisingly around the ballroom.

"I would dress up as an airship pirate for a Gala evening." I offered in reference to Abney Park, the Seattle steam-punk band.

"Bella! Enough with the pirates!" Angela griped as she appeared at my elbow with Jasper carrying a tray laden with drinks at her side. "I made yours a double, Bella, because I know you like it to last." She joked inappropriately.

I accepted my drink, with a pretty smile for Jasper, and gulped at it desperately as I held Angela's gaze so she would know that our mood for joking had passed with Dr. Cullen's easy uncovering of our fiercely protected secret. Angela shifted her gaze uneasily away from my worried eyes and saw her husband's steady refusal to look away from the bright flags hanging from the ceiling before she peeked around at our intent audience and then returned her eyes to my face. I sipped my martini and noticed that Jasper had instantly picked up on the heavy tension stifling our group and focused his attention on me and Angela.

"What did I miss?" Jasper asked with an easy tone that belied his keen concentration.

"We were just talking about Cygnet Biotechnologies." Mrs. Cullen volunteered smoothly.

"I was talking about pirates." I disputed gamely. "Airship pirates, in particular."

"Bella, you have more chance of pulling a bass player in a cover band than scoring an airship pirate." Ben drawled lazily.

"I wasn't talking about scoring an airship pirate, Ben. We're in polite company." I reminded him haughtily.

I took a long pull of my martini and stared into the cloudy liquid for a long beat in time while I cycled through my options of dealing with this unexpected situation before I abruptly drained the rest of my drink.

"My glass is empty." I stated unnecessarily.

I spun jerkily away from the weight of heavy expectation directed at me and then smoothly eased into the milling crowd near the closest bar. I slipped through the narrow gaps in the close pressed bodies until I pushed free on the other side and quickly walked around the edge of the ballroom to the furthest point from the frozen tableau I had left behind. I circled around the animated groupings of doctors, nurses, paramedics and sponsors while I worked through my circling thoughts before I finally retraced my path and queued up at the first bar to order more drinks. I heard my phone ringing faintly below the hub of conversation surrounding me and quickly fished it out of my small purse and grimaced when I saw it was Angela calling.

"Sorry." I greeted Angela with an immediate apology. "I'm queued up at the bar and about to get served… What is everyone drinking?" I tacked on quickly.

"Four scotches and five G-Spots… plus whatever you're drinking." Angela requested quickly. "Are you okay?" She added and I could barely hear her over the noise surrounding me at the bar.

"I'll see you in a few." I ended without answering her hushed query as the harried bartender paused to take my order.

I requested a tray and one cocktail umbrella that I opened and rested in one of the martinis for a joke that Ben would like before I carefully carried our ten drinks back my friends and old Forks acquaintances. I held the tray while everyone took their drinks and I smiled when I saw that no one had touched the glass with the cocktail umbrella. I quickly returned the tray to the bar and then walked lightly back to Ben's side and smiled innocently at his stare that flicked between my face and the cutesy embellishment resting in my glass.

"I asked for a cocktail umbrella… because I like it freaky." I explained to Ben and took a careful sip out of my decorated glass.

I grinned at Ben's spluttered laughter and then coughed over my own laugh when I caught Emmett's considering look. Edward stepped close to my other side and I peeked sideways at him before I trained my eyes back on my cloudy martini.

"Jasper, do you work for the WHO?" I cut off whatever Edward was going to say with my question and saw him unhappily run his hand through his hair out of the corner of my eye. "Ang mentioned that you were here for the talks about Pandemics."

"I consult with the WHO… I work for a non-profit here in Nevada." Jasper said as he watched me closely.

"Have you ever heard whispers about vaccines that have been shelved by the big Biopharmaceuticals?" I asked and moved closer to my point. "Vaccines that are easy and very cheap to produce and would be able to save millions of lives?" I added and casually sipped my martini.

I calmly returned the sharp gazes that Dr. Cullen and Edward narrowed on my face before I returned my eyes to Jasper's uncertain expression.

"I've heard _whispers_ that one vaccine for HIV got canned because it wasn't viable to produce." Jasper confessed quietly.

"The way I read between the lines of that bullshit was that it wasn't viable to their bottom line to release that vaccine." Ben muttered darkly. "Their multi-billion dollar annual profits would be hit hard when there was no longer a need for the drugs they push to mask the symptoms and complications you see with full-blown AIDS."

"That ran through my head when I heard about it…" Jasper admitted and drank deeply from his scotch.

"It would end up being worth trillions of their profits… Over twenty, thirty… fifty years." I offered carefully. "I've heard _whispers_ about five HIV vaccines that have been locked down… Locked down tighter than the Smallpox stocks at the CDC." I joked humorlessly.

"How cheap is very cheap to produce?" Dr. Cullen asked quickly.

"Nine cents a vaccine?" I checked with Ben for his estimate.

"Probably less if you got it into proper mass production." Ben shrugged. "Factor in packaging and distribution costs and you'd end up, maybe, around the seven to ten cents range. That's after it's gotten out of the lab, of course. If we're talking about the initial R and D and trialing costs you might have to say, maybe, two dollars per vaccine… once it's made it to production." He mused.

"The five vaccines I heard about had all made it up to approval for human trials." I volunteered calmly.

"Which means they'd already passed rigorous trials conducted away from official eyes and were all, basically, ready for shipping." Angela interjected coolly.

I smiled at Angela and sipped my cocktail while I waited for our small group to process the implications behind our vague conversation. I met Mrs. Cullen's considering gaze and held it for a long beat in time before I turned my eyes to scan the crowd around our intimate huddle when she moved her gaze to her son's face at my side.

"Are you saying that there is a cure for AIDS that is being kept secret because drug companies make more money from sick people than they do healthy people?" Rosalie asked doubtfully.

"Not a cure, no… a vaccine that would stop the transmission of the HIV virus. A vaccine that would maybe turn HIV/AIDS into a just chapter in our history books in four or five generations. I'm saying that there are whispers, rumors, of vaccines that might be able to halt the spread of HIV that have been benched by the very companies that sponsored their development." I clarified cautiously.

"But that's wrong…" Alice murmured and looked at Jasper to validate her uneasy statement.

"It depends on who's making the judgment." Ben ventured tentatively. "If you're a shareholder or a major stakeholder in one of those companies then you would think that it couldn't get anymore right." He suggested with sad eyes.

"And that's where the airship pirates come into the equation, Ang." I tried to break the dark mood that was settling over our heads. "We could steal the vaccines and take them back to a secret lair under a volcano to mass produce. We could then take a round-the-world holiday in our airship immunizing kiddies and collecting pirate booty as we sail over the seven continents… We should leave Antarctica until last." I continued lightly.

"Wouldn't pirates have their secret lair in a cave that has an entrance that floods at high tide?" Angela countered quickly.

"You couldn't have your secret lair under a volcano… Hydrogen is flammable. The airship would disintegrate on every approach." Edward interjected smoothly and I huffed a soft laugh before I pretended to seriously consider their two points.

"What do dead vaccines have to do with synthetic blood?" Emmett cut through our playful change of subject.

I caught my lower lip between my teeth as I met Angela's and then Ben's eyes and I frowned down at my martini when they both shrugged minutely to give their consent for me to take our conversation into more dangerous territory.

"Not a lot…" Mrs. Cullen guessed aloud. "It was a subtle way of leading the discussion away from their company's products… With a gentle hint of why they don't want to discuss their business with old friends in a public forum." She surmised.

I smiled sheepishly at Mrs. Cullen and then absently played with the cocktail umbrella decorating my martini before I glanced around our immediate surroundings to check that no one was able to hear our quiet conversation.

"People have been searching for a replacement for human blood for decades… Most of the research hasn't moved past looking at pig's or monkey's blood as the source of a viable substitute." I murmured and instantly captured everyone's attention. "A company that could corner the market on a reliable, cheap alternative could expect millions of dollars, maybe billions over time, from the selling and licensing of their product. The competition to tie down the market is… intense. Some respected, high profile companies have _research_ arms whose sole purpose is to _research_ what their competitors are working on… and to bring the technologies and science they uncover back to their company to duplicate or reverse engineer and try to rush it out to market first." I shared quietly.

"Espionage?" Dr. Cullen clarified softly.

"Spying… Hacking, stealing, bribing, black-mailing… and worse." Ben confirmed and kept his eyes on the people outside our small group, just as Angela and I were doing.

"And you want to be the ones who make the billions?" Rosalie asked coldly.

"No." I shut her down just as coolly. "I am talking about the race to develop a human blood replacement. I am not talking about Cygnet… I, personally, would want to see a viable, safe and cheap substitute actually make it out onto the frickin' market… And, if one ever does, I would want to see it widely and affordably available around the world." I offered bluntly and finished my drink in one swift swallow.

"Bella thinks the best way to protect something priceless is to make it valueless." Angela interjected softly.

"Okay, that's too deep for me… What does that mean?" Emmett asked with quiet exasperation.

"You can't restrict something… or control people's access to it… if everyone knows about it. If you give something away freely, it loses its value and people can't profit from it." I explained obliquely.

"The internet…" Edward surmised. "You would release your formula on the internet."

"Again, I'm not talking about Cygnet." I explained carefully. "We're discussing the rumors that some of us heard today about a possible synthetic blood alternative. Rosalie and I touched on some of the interesting ethical dilemmas in our industry… Shouldn't a company who has sunk money and time into developing a product be expected to profit from its eventual release? Is there a limit to what profit any company should be able to command from, what is essentially, people's pain and misfortune?" I offered as a distraction.

Edward flashed me a crooked grin that I returned faintly before I scanned my eyes back around the people standing close to our position in the ballroom. I briefly caught the eye of a tall man wearing a tuxedo with his long, dirty blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and I flicked my eyes to his two companions before I continued my casual-seeming search for eavesdroppers.

"What would you want to see in a hypothetical blood replacement, Bella?" Dr. Cullen probed nonchalantly.

I flashed my eyes back and met his intent, ice blue gaze for a short second and read a wistful hope hidden in his keen expression before I resumed my vigilant scanning.

"In my wildest imagination, I think it would be neat if someone could develop a universal substitute that does away with needing to worry about blood-types… It would have to have a shelf life of seven years and not seven days like human blood. And, on my pirate airship, it would have to be able to stay viable in temperatures ranging from twenty to one hundred and twenty degrees Fahrenheit without refrigeration…" I listed some of the fantastical aspects of the synthetic blood we were testing in Brazil. "Of course, it would have to be a complete, stand-alone replacement with all of the same properties as whole blood… And be as readily accepted by the human body as saline with very few side-effects observed in all recipients."

"And smell like strawberries." Ben teased me lightly.

"Hey now, there's no need for it to smell rusty and nasty like real blood… If we can't improve on the original then there's no point in dreaming, is there?" I returned sassily.

"Is it possible?" Edward asked his father in an awestruck whisper.

Dr. Cullen studied my profile intently as I pretended interest in my empty glass before I saw him nod slowly out of the corner of my eye. Edward raked his hand through his hair as he blew out a loud breath and I could feel the excited tension emanating from his leanly muscular body close to my side. Ben nudged me lightly with his elbow and pointed at my empty glass and I nodded quickly with a small smile and then winked at Angela when she tipped up her glass to hurriedly finish her drink.

"What you're dreaming about would change Triage at mass-casualty incidents and in warzones unbelievably." Emmett muttered as he watched Ben walk towards the bar.

"I don't think it would change the triage out in the field… There's still the problem of having enough first responders on hand and transporting casualties. It might change how hospitals and field bases triage casualties." I acknowledged thoughtfully.

I returned Rosalie's tentative, apologetic smile and moved my easy smile on to meet Emmett's steady gaze before I stepped sharply forward and spun a half turn in the same movement when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I politely faced my ponytailed stranger who I'd spotted earlier as I recovered from my surprise and I suddenly wished I was wearing more clothes when he slowly ran his eyes down my body.

"Hi! I couldn't help notice you noticing me earlier and thought I should stop by and introduce myself." My ponytailed stranger murmured silkily. "I'm _Doctor_ James Banner." He introduced himself to my breasts with his hand held out for me to shake.

"Hi, Dr. James Banner. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and introduce yourself." I returned smoothly and ignored his outstretched hand.

An uncomfortable silence pressed between us when I didn't say anything more and Dr. James Banner dragged his eyes up from my chest and looked towards his friends near the bar before he turned back to me with a forced smile.

"Excuse me, I was mistaken." Dr. James Banner murmured and stalked away.

I slowly turned back to our group and stonily refused to look at Angela as she snickered quietly when she saw my face. I smiled distantly at Jasper's and Alice's wickedly amused expressions before I trained my eyes on the patterned carpet under my feet. Ben twirled into our uncomfortable quiet and presented his tray of drinks with a flourish and I quickly grabbed the lowball tumbler he pointed out was mine and studied the cloudy liquid as a distraction from my embarrassment.

"I got the bartender to make yours in an empty glass I found on the bar, Bella… because I know you like it dirty." Ben joked as he offered Dr. and Mrs. Cullen their drinks on his tray.

"Thanks, Ben." I returned faintly.

"What did I miss?" Ben asked Angela worriedly in an unconscious echo of Jasper's earlier query.

"Bella got caught eye-fucking a random doctor in the crowd." Angela snickered into her fresh cocktail. "He just came over to let her know that he had noticed her noticing him and to say hi to her boobs." Angela began laughing in earnest.

"I wasn't eye-fucking a doctor." I protested resignedly. "I accidently made eye contact with him for, like, a millisecond…" I admitted glumly.

"I almost felt sorry for him." Emmett murmured with hidden laughter audible in his voice. "Almost, Rosie, I _almost_ felt sorry for him." He assured Rosalie when she turned on him disbelievingly.

"Are you selling passage on your airship adventure around the world?" Mrs. Cullen asked abruptly.

I nodded minutely to encourage Ben to answer Esme Cullen's question when he looked sharply at her and then quickly glanced at me for confirmation that it was okay to speak.

"We're not planning on setting sail for another two years… We might be able to discuss pre-selling advance tickets for the voyage." Ben offered discreetly. "You should know that there won't be much pirate booty collected… What we can pillage along the way will probably have to be put towards the cost of building and maintaining the airship." He warned obliquely.

Esme Cullen turned to her husband immediately and I flicked my eyes away from her eager face to allow them privacy while they silently communicated. Edward diffidently touched a finger to my elbow to call my attention and I smiled automatically when I looked up into his too handsome face.

"Are you really saying there is a vaccine that will be ready in two years?" Jasper's quiet, urgent question pulled my focus away from Edward.

"Um… That's actually a hard question to answer, Jasper." I hesitated. "The biggest hurdle a company would have is getting their vaccine approved here for clinical trials… You can't deliberately expose trial participants to a deadly virus with a, technically, unproven vaccine and, so, a company wouldn't be able to ever show they have an effective vaccine. In an emergent pandemic situation there is such a panic that vaccines are passed for general use as soon as it is proven that they have no unacceptable side effects. Historically, controversial and risky vaccines and drugs were trialed in prison populations or other groups that were seen as expendable… Presently, there aren't many options for getting new, controversial vaccines through the official channels here first." I explained uncomfortably.

"So how would a company get a controversial vaccine to market?" Dr. Cullen asked with an edge of distrust coloring his voice.

"They'd start in an overseas market… They'd only bring it to the US when their vaccine's proven effectiveness and safety record is indisputable. The trials they'd be facing then are formalities about a product's safety and side effects and not about its effectiveness." Angela jumped in and detailed rapidly.

"Vaccines don't go with synthetic skin and blood products." Rosalie interjected thoughtfully.

"Vaccines go with synthetic primaries… Currently, most vaccine production is started by growing viruses or bugs using chicken eggs or cultured human cells as their primary cell… Yeast, bacteria and cell cultures can also be used for generating antigens to produce other types of vaccines. I've heard rumors that some companies are looking at a synthetic, universal replacement medium. A company that could prove their medium replaces the traditional primary cells by bringing out different vaccines, all using the same synthetic primary cell, would garner a lot of interest in their product." I explained casually.

"Do you know what you are suggesting?" Jasper asked quietly.

"Amazing advances in productivity. Huge reductions in the turn-around time and cost to develop new vaccines. And a greatly reduced, if not eliminated, risk of contamination in the production of all vaccines." I returned easily. "And safer flu shots for people with egg allergies…" I added lightly.

"Um, okay, you're talking like it's something that is not completely, out-of-this-world, un-fucking-believable." Jasper grouched back at my offhandedness.

"You see, Bella… It's not just me that thinks you're a bratty, smartass." Ben laughed delightedly.

"Egg allergies are a serious factor when you're considering the safety of vaccines." I protested quickly.

Edward chuckled softly beside me and I flashed him a smile and caught my breath when he quirked a crooked smile and trapped me in his dancing gaze. I sipped my martini to distract myself from the heavenly doctor at my side and then frowned down at my glass at its unexpected taste.

"We've drunk the first bar out of citrus vodka." Ben explained. "I got the bartender to mix the girls' G-Spots before yours and mine… I didn't think you'd mind, Bella, because I know you like it anyway you can get it." He added and couldn't resist his joke.

I snickered quietly and then looked over to where the mock street vendor carts were serving steady streams of Gala attendees.

"Do you have any working berths left on your airship?" Dr. Cullen asked diffidently.

"You both should probably plan a vacation to South America and visit some of the attractions that are off the normal tourists' trail before you sign up for a voyage of wenching and carousing." Ben suggested casually and had followed my gaze across to the food stalls. "Ang and I are flying down in a couple of weeks and can give you a guided tour of some of our favorite haunts. Do you like Cachaça?" He asked about the local Brazilian rum as if it was the most important part of our decision.

"You'll need to get your Malaria shot before you leave." Angela told them leadingly with a secretive smile.

"You have a fucking malaria vaccine?" Jasper demanded in a disbelieving whisper.

"Eyes on the prize, Jasper… We're talking about a synthetic primary cell medium that could be, incidentally, tested with different vaccines." I corrected him cheekily. "A company that developed it could be really proud." I added with a winsome smile into his narrowed eyes.

Edward chuckled quietly at my side and then carefully placed his large palm against my bare, lower back and I flashed him a startled glance even as I caught my breath at the snap of energy I felt under his touch.

"Should we get something to eat?" Edward asked in his liquid, velvet voice that made butterflies take flight in my stomach.

"Sure… I have to escort Ang to the ladies first." I excused myself politely.

"And me!" Alice interjected quickly.

"And me!" Rosalie added immediately.

"And me!" Mrs. Cullen giggled.

"Great! Who's going to escort me to the gents?" Ben demanded jokingly. "Someone? Anyone? Fine, I'll go by myself!" He huffed.

"I need to make a pass through the gents… But I'm not escorting you there." Emmett warned Ben sternly.

"That's cool, man. You don't even have to stand at the next urinal to me… As long as we can talk about chicks while we're fixing our hair." Ben joked lightly.

I snorted a laugh and then drained my martini and shook my head at the sharp burn of the harsher vodka.

"Okay, it's a good thing I like it hard… That's got a real kick, Ben." I gasped.

"Yeah…" Ben sighed happily and then gulped down his martini in one long swallow and shook his own head against the burn.

"Bella, hurry up… As soon as you mentioned the ladies I needed to go." Angela whispered.

I smiled my leave taking to Edward and then stepped quickly after Alice when she waved her hand towards the corner of the room before I smiled when Angela linked her arm through my elbow as she fell into step at my side. Mrs. Cullen surprised me when she tucked her cool hand under my other elbow and I returned her warm smile carefully before I was distracted by Alice's excited question about when I had visited Bangkok. Angela and I made easy, lighthearted small talk with Alice, Rosalie and Esme Cullen as we queued for the toilets and then hovered in front of the mirrors while I pretended to care about my hair with the four beautiful women. Angela turned threateningly towards me with her bright red lipstick and I hurriedly fished my strawberry Chapstick out of my purse and slicked it on thickly before I jokingly returned her disappointed pout. Esme Cullen shooed Angela away from me and I flashed her a grateful smile before we both followed Angela, Alice and Rosalie out of the crowded bathroom.

We rejoined the men waiting for us outside the short corridor to the bathrooms and I smiled shyly at Edward when he immediately took his mother's place at my side after she had deserted me to talk quietly with Dr. Cullen. I felt my cheeks warm when I got mesmerized by Edward moistening his lips as he stared at my mouth before he dragged his gaze up to mine and trapped me in his hypnotic, jade eyes.

"Bella has a pet parrot." Alice shared some of our gossip with her brother excitedly.

"Of course, you can't be a pirate without a parrot." Edward responded as he released me from his spell to smile at his sister.

"He's actually a Hyacinth Macaw… We found him injured and splinted his leg and fed him until he got better… And he wouldn't leave." I admitted glumly. "We bought him a girlfriend from a market but she hasn't laid any eggs yet… We're hoping it's because they're both not mature enough and not because Mr. Darcy is shooting blanks." I overshared inanely.

Edward stunned me with a delighted smile and then returned his electric hand to the small of my lower back to guide me towards the food stalls.

"Who's we?" Emmett asked nonchalantly as he fell into step on my other side with his arm around Rosalie.

"Um, our team… We're a small band of lab geeks and pirates who spend too much of our free time worrying about the mating habits of Macaws. Hyacinth Macaws are on the endangered species list… It's actually a very weighty concern." I defended unnecessarily.

"He's not a nice parrot. He's an arrogant pretty-boy who thinks everyone should give him the peanuts that they are actually enjoying themselves, fuck you very much." Ben warned Emmett jokingly. "Bella's single." He added lightly.

"Okay, firstly, we keep telling you not to tease the parrot, Ben. If he swoops you and makes you squeal like a little girl, it's your own fault." I sniped back at Ben. "And, secondly, Emmett's not single… and, I haven't asked, but I'm pretty sure that Rosalie isn't interested in sharing him." I made a joke out of Ben's awkward, pointless confession of my single status.

"I don't know, Bella… Sometimes he can be… exasperating. Em, sweetie, leave the meddling to Alice and Esme." Rosalie corrected Emmett cryptically.

I returned Rosalie's and Emmett's wide smiles uncertainly and then got distracted by the food offered at the cart Edward had steered me to and ordered a plate of the mixed satays sizzling on the grill. I smiled prettily at the young, Thai chef and then waited for Edward to collect his meal before we both walked to the large table Alice had procured for our group. I immediately stood up from my seat when I saw Angela's plate of Pad Thai and quickly hurried over to the cart she smugly pointed out and ordered two plates of my favorite noodle dish. I carried my plates back to our table and slid one in front of Edward before I sat down and started to hungrily eat my meal.

"Why wait two years before your round-the-world trip?" Jasper asked with ill-disguised intensity after only a short minute.

I slowly chewed my mouthful and glanced around the table before I met Jasper's keen eyes briefly and then trained my eyes back down on my food.

"We've just seen a worrying development in the vaccine we were planning on taking on our trip…" I volunteered quietly. "We have to go back over the results and then try to reproduce them before we're sure what we're seeing isn't random. It looks like the vaccine is stopping the destruction of helper T cells and macrophages when it's administered to studies already infected with the virus." I shared our exciting discovery softly.

"_What?_" Dr. Cullen demanded instantly with fierce urgency.

"Um, yeah… We need to double-check our results before we'll know definitively but… um, yeah." I shrugged. "It will change the amount of cargo and the size of the airship we need for our voyage." I explained before I forked more noodles into my mouth.

"What does that mean?" Alice asked as she looked between Jasper, Edward and Dr. Cullen who were frozen by my revelation.

"AIDS is an immunodeficiency characterized by the lack of CD4+ T cells and macrophage white blood cells. Cells that are destroyed by the HIV virus. If you stop the destruction of those cells, you stop the progression of HIV into AIDS." Dr. Cullen instructed rapidly. "Bella is now talking about, not only stopping the transmission of the virus, but halting its progression into full-blown AIDS." He explained disbelievingly.

"It's not my field… I tend to glaze over a little when the immunologists start babbling about bugs and viruses and stuff." I confessed sheepishly after swallowing my mouthful.

"Don't look at me!" Ben protested quickly when everyone shifted their intent focus to him and Angela. "I'm just the bean-counter and ass-kisser."

"I'm the palm-greaser and red-tape cutter." Angela denied any in-depth knowledge of my revelation. "I always have to get the 'For Dummies' guides on our products when we're submitting them for approval." She admitted ruefully.

I concentrated on my noodle dish in the awed silence that settled on our table and then contentedly reached for a satay stick to nibble on until Esme Cullen met my eye seriously.

"I'm in… If you'll let me join you… I can help finance your airship or your secret lair." Esme Cullen murmured with a lightness belied by her solemn, hazel eyes.

"Our Bio-Graft and Ringer's solution will be doing most of our future financing… We rushed out products that we could sell to the Developed world where there are abundant profits to pillage. Ben can talk with you more about our future needs." I returned smoothly. "You really must plan a vacation down south before you sign up, though. You'll get to tour many amazing sights but you'll also get to see some of the darker, shadier sides of that part of the world." I warned carefully.

"Bella… You can't just casually reveal that the two revolutionary products rocking the medical world were pushed out solely as money-spinners for other projects." Edward scolded me with sudden exasperation.

"She can… She just did." Jasper smirked across the table at Edward.

"Jazz… I have vacation days the hotel wants me to take." Alice casually mentioned to her husband.

"I was just thinking that we should take a holiday… We haven't gone away together since our honeymoon." Jasper smiled at his wife.

"What would a girl need to pack on that kind of holiday?" Rosalie asked thoughtfully.

"You have to pack for an equatorial climate." Angela jumped in eagerly. "Some of the people you'll meet will be running around in wifebeaters and bermuda shorts. But I say there's no need to take it that far." She added with a disapproving frown in my direction.

I focused on selecting another satay from my plate and ignored Angela's dig at my fashion sense before I looked at Rosalie and Alice and met their excited smiles.

"You'll also need to pack malaria tablets… unless you get your shots before you go." I told them both seriously.

"Have you had your malaria shot, Bella?" Dr. Cullen probed intently.

"Yep… I'm all current on my shots. I'm inoculated against malaria, HIV, TB plus both bacillary and amoebic dysentery… as well as all the others." I airily waved away his interest.

"You have a tuberculosis vaccine? You have a fucking vaccine for bacillary dysentery?" Jasper demanded in a rough whisper. "You can't just casually slip that in to a conversation, Bella." He protested disgustedly.

"She can… She just did." Edward returned with his own smirk back at Jasper.

"Dr. Cullen asked if I had had my shots and I told him what I was immunized against… You'll pull down a world of hurt onto our shoulders if you start running around spreading rumors about vaccines that may, or may not, exist and may, or may not, have been proven safe and effective in unofficial trials." I protested seriously.

"The big Biopharmaceuticals aren't interested in vaccines whose biggest markets are in the Third and developing worlds." Ben soothed me softly. "There's no money for them in those markets." He reminded me unnecessarily.

"We're already on their radars with the Bio-Graft release and the whispers about our blood, though… You know they're watching us now." Angela murmured to her husband and then looked at me carefully. "Jay called when we were getting changed… His office was taken offline for an hour this afternoon. Seth found a worm buried nice and deep in the apple when they got everything back up and running." She informed me coolly.

"Nice…" I muttered under my breath. "Oh well, they'll have fun working on that nonsense for a while." I sighed.

"Smoke and mirrors?" Edward asked casually.

"Yeah…" Ben confirmed quietly. "We're hoping that they think they are so clever that they won't question how easy it was for them to find that layer of horseshit… They can dig a little deeper before we have to come up with another strategy." He explained darkly.

"It sounds very James Bond… I'm in… Rosie, you can be my Bond girl." Emmett joked quietly.

"You'd have to be Dr. Holly Goodhead." I warned Rosalie and then raised my hand to cover my snicker at Ben's delighted grin.

"Moonraker?" Edward clarified my double-oh-seven reference quickly. "Cygnet Biotechnologies isn't based in Brazil…" He added uncertainly.

"Ah, a man who knows his Bond's girls…" Ben nodded approvingly at Edward. "Speaking of vodka martinis… More drinks?" He offered the table to immediate nods and smiles.

I smiled when Angela slipped into the seat Ben vacated next to me as he left to get another round of drinks before I pushed my plate of satays in front of her and laid a hand against my full stomach to show her I was finished eating.

"They have Tako." Angela told me about the delicious Thai jasmine scented coconut pudding for dessert.

"Awesome." I breathed. "Alice, you have done an amazing job… and not just because you have Pad Thai and Tako." I complimented her sincerely.

"Thank you, Bella." Alice smiled prettily. "I got out-voted on having live Thai pop music. I had to settle for an Eighties cover band. They're starting with 'One Night In Bangkok' and I'm hoping at least some of this crowd is drunk enough to dance." She murmured as she critically eyed the Gala guests around the room.

"Ooh, a cover band, Bella." Angela teased and jabbed me with her sharp elbow again.

"Ang… I'm going to bruise if you keep doing that." I grouched with my gasp as I clutched my side. "I'm not going to try to pull the bass player." I assured Esme Cullen's uncertain expression.

"No, you should aim high and try for the keyboard player, Bella." Angela encouraged me laughingly.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at her inappropriate joke before I smiled apologetically at Esme Cullen. Ben arrived and set his tray of drinks on the table and I started laughing when I saw a zester resting in one of the fruit martinis. I picked up the glass and looked at Ben expectantly when he waved me to my drink with his joke already shining in his eyes.

"I asked the bartender to hold the apple juice in yours and if you could keep the mini grater, Bella… because I know you like it dry with a little friction." Ben snickered and took our joking too far in our present company.

"Ben… That might be funny but it's not something that everyone will find okay to talk about when they're eating." I admonished him sternly after I had coughed over my shocked laugh.

"Oh… I suppose not. Sorry, everyone." Ben muttered. "Bella, the bartender wants you to take her mini grater thing back." He nonchalantly waved me back to the bar he had been served at.

"Ben? Did you tell a random bartender that I like it to rub?" I demanded disbelievingly.

"No." Ben scoffed. "I told her you thought she was cute." He shrugged indifferently.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." I complained under my breath.

I pushed up from my seat and snatched the zester out of my glass and then spun and stalked over to the bar where Ben had gotten our drinks. I hovered in the queue and then presented the zester back to the willowy bartender with a pretty smile and a quietly murmured 'thank you' before I accepted the folded napkin she pressed into my hand and strode swiftly back to my seat. I sank down on my chair and quickly peeked inside the napkin before I pushed it into my purse and fought not to blush as I met everyone's curious eyes.

"Her name is Irina… She owns a cell phone." I muttered my terse explanation.

I glared at Ben and Angela as they both spluttered laughs before I calmly picked up my glass and serenely sipped my martini.

"You weren't joking about the apple juice… That's dry." I winced at Ben.

"Yeah… If people weren't eating I'd say it was just the way you like it." Ben joked quietly.

I cleared my throat over my laugh and shot Ben a warning look before I sipped my drink carefully and started to worry about Angela's news from Seattle in the brief lull in conversation at our table.

"Did you talk to Seth? Or just to Jay?" I asked Angela quietly.

"Both… Seth is happy that we don't have to take any further steps at the moment… If they hit Buenos Aires, he wants us to move." Angela murmured softly.

I nodded quickly and ran through the logistics of moving the scientists and technicians we had in our three laboratories across Brazil to our main compound if our fake office in Argentine was targeted. I started and turned quickly to Edward when he gently touched my elbow to call my attention and I smiled shyly when I met his serious eyes.

"Will your smoke and mirrors keep you safe in Brazil?" Edward asked with quiet concern even as he was fishing for information on our home base.

"We have reinforced gates and razor wire if anyone sees through our other subterfuges." I assured him calmly.

"Is that the dark, shady side of your part of the world?" Esme Cullen asked quietly.

"It's one of the darker aspects… The shadiness is different again. There are a lot of interesting questions raised when you start talking about some sciences that have life saving aspects to their technologies… questions with no easy answers." I responded and took care with my words.

"Like what kind of questions?" Emmett asked curiously.

"Like why haven't they been running around sticking every HIV positive person they can find…" Jasper volunteered darkly.

"When you color your question with your own opinion and judgment, you sometimes warp and restrict the answers people can give you in return…" Angela suggested coolly. "Even, earlier, you asked why we were waiting for two years before we ventured out… Your choice in words was curious… Waiting implies a passive, time-wasting and almost deliberate delay. It doesn't allow for the frantic work in around-the-clock shifts to get the product tested and ready for mass production. And, it doesn't acknowledge the desperate battles that you know need to be fought with bureaucrats and departments whose sole purpose seems to be to wrap us up in miles of red tape." She bitched snippily.

"Ang… For one night in Bangkok we can leave that in the real world." Ben soothed his passionate wife. "Alice, you've created a wonderful night… It's like a fantasy land." He complimented Alice genuinely.

"It is… The only thing missing is the half-naked, sweaty firefighters." Angela murmured with a visible effort to rein in her temper.

"Um, okay, I think Ben meant a different type of fantasy land." I interjected lightly. "… I think he was talking about the one with the geisha girls who are very bad at tying their kimonos… and remembering to wear undergarments." I added wickedly while I watched Ben with a sly smile.

I snickered at the goofy look that crossed Ben's face and then I followed Angela's eyes towards where the band was setting up at the other end of the ballroom. I nudged Angela gently with my elbow and then drained my too tart martini with a grimace before I stood up with Angela and gestured at the dance floor in front of the stage.

"Could we be excused? They'll be playing our song." I requested formally.

"What's your song?" Esme Cullen asked curiously with a warm smile.

"Um… We actually have about fifty songs." Angela admitted ruefully. "Only about ten of them are from the Eighties, though." She calculated as she looked at me to confirm her guess.

"I'm going to stab myself with a fork if I hear 'Love My Way' or 'Every Breath You Take', Bella." Ben warned me teasingly.

"I am going to stab you with a fork if you say another word, Ben Cheney." I threatened him seriously.

"What?" Emmett demanded laughingly.

I kept my eyes on Ben and let him read my seriousness in my gaze until I was distracted by Rosalie standing up from the table. Rosalie calmly handed her small clutch to Emmett and then smiled at me and Angela and gestured for us to lead the way on to the dance floor.

"Em, I expect you to join me if they play a slow song." Rosalie informed Emmett coolly with a small smile. "And to worry about getting the details about our holiday to South America from Ben and not about ferreting out a girl's secrets." She added as she turned her smile on me with one arched eyebrow that demanded details later.

"Sure, Rosie." Emmett agreed meekly.

"Jazz, you can find me if they play a slow song." Alice suggested softly before she stood up and walked over to my side.

"I have to talk to Ben." Esme Cullen murmured regretfully as she looked longingly at the dance floor.

I smiled widely at Esme Cullen and then walked beside a subdued Alice towards the dance floor behind Rosalie and Angela who were talking about clothes for tropical climates.

"Jazz was just surprised… maybe, shocked… by what you've shared tonight. He wouldn't have meant to be rude or judgmental." Alice apologized uncomfortably.

"I know, Alice… Angela knows, too." I reassured the small, beautiful woman at my side.

Alice and I stopped beside Rosalie and Angela and started dancing to the band's bright, poppy covers of well-known hits from Eighties. I left my worries about espionage and the race to finalize our vaccines back at the table and lost myself in dancing to the classic Eighties songs and laughing with Angela and my two new friends, Rosalie and Alice.

The band began the long introduction into U2's 'With or Without You' and Rosalie immediately craned her head to search for Emmett. I followed her gaze with an anticipatory smile that I felt freeze when I spotted Edward walking swiftly beside Jasper and Emmett towards us with Ben following beside Dr. and Mrs. Cullen. Edward looked away from laughing at something Emmett had said and caught me in the tractor beam of his jade eyes and I felt my cheeks heat with my rising blush.

"May I have this dance?" Edward requested formally after he had glided to a stop close to my side.

I nodded slightly with a weak smile and turned towards him as I carefully raised my left hand onto his shoulder while Edward gently clasped my right hand in his large palm and placed his other hand on my waist. I drew in a shaky breath at the current that arced between our bare skins and fixed my gaze on a button on Edward's white shirt as he coaxed me closer to his body.

"You feel it, too." Edward stated softly.

I flashed my eyes up to meet his and swallowed dryly at the vibrant intensity I met in his dark gaze and I saw him read his own answer when his brow furrowed slightly and he gently urged me still closer to his lean strength.

"Ben was right when he said that tonight, this room, feels like a fantasy land…" Edward murmured in almost a whisper. "It feels like I'm dreaming."

"Don't pinch me." I warned quietly and earned myself a heart stuttering, crooked smile from Edward.

"I don't know… How do I know you're real?" Edward challenged silkily.

I caught my lower lip between my teeth and smiled with my eyes up into Edward's dancing gaze as I smoothed my hand off his shoulder and down his shirt before I snuck my hand under his jacket and pinched him sharply on his waist. Edward gasped a laugh and quickly grabbed my hand and returned it to his shoulder before he dropped his hand and rested it against the bare skin of my lower back. I felt Edward's fingers tangle in the delicate bow securing my top and I flashed an alarmed look up into his wickedly amused eyes.

"We can play, Bella Swan." Edward dared me huskily.

"Not in the middle of a crowded dance floor… right next to your mom and dad." I refused softly.

Edward frowned slightly at my words and tightened his hold around my lower back as he ducked his head to place his mouth next to my ear.

"But, maybe… someplace else?" Edward breathed with a hint of vulnerable disbelief in his whispered words.

My eyes fell shut automatically when Edward brushed his lips against my earlobe and I sucked in a sharp breath against the liquid heat the flooded my body at his simple caress.

"Maybe…" I exhaled and instinctively pressed myself into his strong warmth. "In another fantasy land…"

"Anywhere you are will be my fantasy land." Edward rasped close to my ear. "Come away with me…" He coaxed huskily.

"Um, everyone will know we've left to, um…" I warned without denying my temptation.

"Get freaky?" Edward suggested with a wicked chuckle that curled desire through my veins. "Bella, come away with me…" He urged again.

I drew back my head and met Edward's glittering eyes for a long beat in time and slowly nodded when I couldn't deny the force of my desire for the inhumanly beautiful man silently pleading with me to join him for one night. I broke my gaze away from his dazzling smile and looked over my shoulder for Angela and sighed heavily when I caught her widened eyes. I smoothed my hand down to Edward's strong bicep and tapped two fingers against his jacketed arm in a silent signal to Angela that made her smile brilliantly and then coolly turn her eyes away with feigned indifference.

"Did you just tell Angela that you were tapping me?" Edward asked with a delighted laugh.

"Um, yeah… Sorry." I mumbled as I blushed faintly.

"Smooth…" Edward approved wickedly. "Shall we…?" He prompted too nonchalantly and carefully turned towards the exit.

"We shall…" I murmured with a decisive nod.

"Awesome…" Edward exhaled at the edge of my hearing and I laughed softly and flashed him a wide smile.

I kept my eyes trained away from the gazes of Edward's friends and family and let Edward steer me between the dancing couples and then quickly guide me towards the wide doors leading out of the ballroom. I felt the momentary hitch in Edward's lithe stride when we both saw the cluster of formally clad guests queued for the lift and I squeezed his strong fingers lightly and then returned his sideways smile. Edward smoothly drew me to a stop near the small crowd waiting for the lift and then turned towards me and bent his mouth close to my ear.

"I was hoping we could make out in the elevator on the way up to the room." Edward confessed sinfully.

"Nicotine…" I breathed my guess of why there was a queue for the lift.

"Yeah… Can we go to your room?" Edward asked and brushed his lips against the hinge of my jaw. "You still smell like summertime… Like strawberries and flowers and sunshine." He murmured huskily.

"We can go to my room." I agreed weakly and lifted my hand to his waist under his jacket.

"Alice has us in a four bedroom suite… to go with the family reunion idea." Edward explained his request as he pressed a hot, opened mouth kiss on my neck under my ear. "If she had known you were here she would have reserved me the honeymoon suite and had an Elvis impersonator standing by…" He joked cryptically.

"Ummm, okay." I hummed when Edward swept his lips along my jaw and brushed the lightest kiss against my mouth.

The elevator dinged its arrival and Edward lifted his head and dazzled me by smiling crookedly straight into my soul for an endless beat of time. A pointed throat clearing broke us from our trance and Edward smiled apologetically at the impatient smokers crowding the lift as he ushered me into the cramped space. I kept my eyes glued to floor and tried not to focus on the slow burn of Edward's cool palm against my back as the lift slowly ascended towards the lobby. I stepped out of the lift with Edward to allow the exodus of smokers to stream out before I slipped back into the empty, gilded box and pressed the button for the eighth floor. I bit my lip to hide my smile when I caught the frustrated look that Edward shot the elderly couple who pressed in to the elevator behind us and pressed the ninth floor button as the doors closed. Edward narrowed his eyes when he saw my badly disguised amusement and I cleared my throat over my laugh and ducked my head away from the wicked promise in his gaze.

"Finally…" Edward exhaled as he guided me out onto the eighth floor.

I huffed a laugh and then waved down the corridor towards my room before I started to walk even as I dug in my purse for my room card. Edward returned his fingers to the irresistible knot of my top's ties and I quickened my pace as I smiled down at my purse. I pulled out the swipe card for my room just as we neared its door and I gestured with the card to show Edward that we had reached our destination. Edward plucked the card out of my fingers and swiped it through the reader next to the lock and deftly pushed open the door even as he pulled loose the bow securing my top at my waist. I gasped and twirled through the door even as I wrapped my arm around the bottom of my slinky top to hold it into place and began to walk backwards as Edward stalked me into the room lit only by the neon glow blinking through the open curtains.

"Sorry, I'm battling my inner seventeen year old…" Edward apologized insincerely as he reached one hand up to cup my jaw.

"S'Okay." I breathed as I reversed my retreat and pressed up to meet Edward's descending mouth.

My eyes slammed shut and I weakly swayed against Edward's leanly muscular body when he caught my lips in a soft, open mouthed kiss. I hummed a moan against his sweet lips and followed his tempting lead in our first, exploratory kiss while I wondered if he felt the same heady, erotic energy building into an unstoppable force. I lifted my hands to the back of Edward's neck and pressed into his strong chest when he teased his tongue against my upper lip and sent flicker of heat through my body. Edward lifted his hand to the small of my back and ignited a fire under my skin when he rubbed his palm up my spine and tangled his fingers in the dainty bow tying my top around my neck. I met Edward's tongue with my own and then smoothed my hands down to the lapels of his jacket and eased the finely woven fabric off his shoulders as I pushed up to deepen our kiss. My silky top slid down from my neck and pooled between our closely pressed bodies and I imagined I could feel Edward's hand trembling when he lightly caressed his palm down to cover my tattooed ribs.

Edward tore his mouth away from mine and panted in a ragged breath as he shook his arms out of his suit jacket and trapped my dazed eyes in his glittering stare. Edward tightened his spell on me when he quirked a crooked grin as he reached up with both hands to cradle my jaw and then cheekily stepped back and let the scrap of silk trapped between us fall to the floor. Edward immediately shifted forward and I returned my hands to his shoulders and gasped at the feel of my naked breasts and hard nipples against his shirt. Edward swooped down with a slow, persuasive kiss and I ecstatically met his mouth's caress and coaxed his tongue and lips to a harder, needier level to match my rising desire. I ran one hand into Edward's tousled hair and reveled in the silky texture against my fingers even as I scraped my short nails across his scalp. Edward groaned and snaked his arm around my hips and snugged me tighter against his body and I twisted against the lick of need the feel of his hard-on pressing into my stomach sent racing through my body.

"Okay, I'm going to have to write you an IOU for our slow and gentle first time." Edward rasped against my lips. "Sorry…" He added huskily as he toed off his shoes and reached for his cufflinks.

"S'Okay…" I breathed and then kissed him as I kicked off my ballet flats. "S'Good…" I assured him raggedly and kissed him again.

I reached behind my back and unzipped my skirt and let it drop to the carpet around my feet before I reached for Edward's shirt and roughly untucked it from his waistband. I danced my fingers against his straining hard-on in my pretence of undoing his bottom shirt button and won a hissing gasp from Edward before he trapped my mouth with a heavy, desperate kiss. I began blindly unbuttoning his shirt from the bottom as he ripped off his tie and started tearing at his top buttons. Our hands met on his hard, defined abdomen and I turned my head to the side to gasp in a breath before I wrapped my arms around Edward's neck and pulled myself against his muscular, bare chest as he tore his arms out of his sleeves.

"Pinch me again." Edward pleaded against my mouth. "Please let me not be dreaming." He begged hoarsely.

I smiled against his lips and lightly trailed one hand slowly down over his lean body and then rubbed my fingers teasingly against his waist. I felt Edward's lips widen with his own smile and I waited for a short second and then quickly plucked at the tight skin on his waist with hard fingers.

"Ow, fuck!" Edward protested through his laugh.

Edward stole my defense out of my mouth with his sinful lips and dropped one hand to my ass even as he smoothed his other hand up my naked torso to palm my breast. I pushed up on my tiptoes to better meet Edward's mouth and feel his body against mine and earned a low groan from deep in his chest. I unwrapped my arm from his neck and snuck both my hands between our bodies to his belt buckle and fumbled cluelessly with the stubborn clasp until Edward's lips stilled against mine with his smile and he swiftly unbuckled his own belt. Edward fished his wallet out of his back pocket and carelessly tossed it onto my bed before he shucked open the button and zip on his tailored trousers with one hand even as he returned his other hand to my breast. Edward teased my mouth with broken, darting kisses as he stepped out of his trousers and peeled off his socks and I wantonly followed his lips as he lured me over to the king-sized bed.

"You're beautiful." Edward told me gruffly as he stopped me beside the bed and swept his eyes down my body.

"You're—" I started to return his compliment but Edward stole my words with his heady, coaxing kiss.

Edward pushed at the waistband of my black panties and slipped them past my hips and ass until they dropped to the floor. I began easing down Edward's boxer briefs as our tongues danced erotically between our joined lips but broke our kiss when I snagged the elastic under my fingers on his straining hard-on. I leaned back from Edward's body and then slowly lowered myself to my knees as I carefully freed his hard cock from his stretch cotton boxers before I looked up to meet his passion-hazed eyes. I blindly grasped his rigid hard-on and watched in awe as Edward's eyes fluttered closed and he clenched his hands tightly at his side before I pressed a wet, opened mouth kiss against his swollen tip. I repeated my sloppy kiss and then flicked my tongue around his engorged head before I tightened my lips against my teeth and slowly pushed my mouth over his tip and down his hard cock as I pulled my grasping fist up to meet my lips. I sucked my lips back off his hard-on and then smeared the saliva I had left on his cock down to his base and then torturously repeated my mouth's deliberate sucking caress up and down his swollen length. Edward unclenched his fists and lifted his shaking hands to my head as he fought to control his breathing while I continued the languorous, wet, sliding suction of my mouth and hand on his hard-on.

"Bella… Fuck, you can't… I mean, if you want, you can but… Fuck!" Edward panted. "Fuck, no, you can't!" He decided abruptly.

I sucked my mouth off Edward's cock and looked up along his body to meet his tortured gaze and was stunned by depth of passion shining in his eyes. I accepted the hand that Edward offered to urge me to stand and clutched at his biceps for balance when he caught me in his arms and crushed his mouth against mine to kiss me wildly. Edward lowered me onto the bed without breaking our kiss and I lifted my hands to his hair when he settled himself between my legs with his weight propped on one elbow. I ripped my lips away from Edward's when he smoothed his hand down to my ass and hesitated before he rubbed down to my thigh and lifted my leg up on to his hip. I panted a moan when he lowered his mouth to my breast even as he slid a finger between my legs and discovered my wetness for the first time. Edward growled with his lips around my nipple and I arched my spine towards his mouth and clenched my fingers into gentle fists in his hair as he began his sweet torture with his lips, teeth, tongue and hand. He added more fingers to his sliding exploration of my wet heat and I gasped his name when his thumb found my clitoris.

Edward scraped his teeth off my nipple and replayed his wicked caresses on my other breast and I began to twist and squirm against the cage of his body above me as my desire built too high. He tried assuage my need with his circling, rubbing thumb over my clit and eased one finger inside my slick heat but his teasing hand only boiled me closer to the promise tightening my stomach and thighs.

"Edward… I need—" I started to beg him to stop his torture.

"Me, too… Me, fucking, too." Edward groaned quietly against my breast.

Edward pulled his hand away from my aching heat and began blindly fumbling for his wallet on the quilt top even as he raked his teeth across my nipple. He groaned his frustration at his fruitless search and lifted his head as he edged up on to his knees on either side of my hips and we both gasped and froze when his new position nudged his swollen tip against my wet entrance. I met Edward's heavy lidded eyes with hazy awe and I instinctually angled my hips against his to better offer myself to his cock.

"Is this okay?" Edward asked with a desperate plea in his rough, velvet voice. "Please let this be okay…" He begged as he wrapped iron fingers around my thigh.

"Pill… Clean." I gasped. "Please, Edward…" I pleaded with him to continue.

"I'm clean." Edward promised hoarsely. "And this is okay?" He prompted disbelievingly.

"Edward…" I whined and arched up against his hips.

"Sorry." Edward offered with a puff of laughter and a devastating, boyish grin.

My instant frown was wiped off my face when he sinuously pulsed his swollen tip into my wet tightness and I gasped a moan that was echoed by Edward. Edward's eyes slammed shut and he fell forward on to his hand beside my ear with his head weakly bowed as he pushed against my slick grip and eased his rigid cock further into my body.

"Fuck, Bella…" Edward cursed and sounded awed. "Oh, angel…" He groaned as he rocked deeper into my heat.

I moaned and pushed myself up onto one elbow and gripped his shoulder with my other hand as I desperately tried to move closer to his shallow thrusts and tempting body. Edward flashed his eyes open and let me read the stunned wonder in his gaze before he crushed his mouth to mine and stole my breath and my heart. He snaked his arm under my hips and started to drag and pump his cock through my clenching wetness and I lost myself as he ratcheted the need burning in my body higher and higher. Our tongues and lips danced a wicked tango until our kisses became broken as we both fought our breaths and rising pleasure and I dug my fingers into Edward's strong shoulder when I felt my stomach and thighs twist with my looming orgasm.

"Fuck! Are you going to cum, angel?" Edward rasped against my mouth. "Ahhhhh, so good…" He groaned as he thrust into my depths.

I wrapped my arm around Edward's shoulders and arched myself against his solid chest as I tilted my hips to feel him deeper in my body and Edward growled into my mouth as he thrust sharply through my slick heat.

"Please be close…" Edward grunted. "I need you to be close…" He pleaded as he pumped his impossibly harder cock faster into my gripping sex.

"Edward… I— fuck!" I stopped trying to form words as my climax flashed too close.

Edward whipped his head back with a loud growling grunt that was torn from him with his deep, rough thrust and I started to writhe against his body and his cock in earnest. Edward spat out a curse and tightened his arm around my hips and began to ram into me with jerking, heavy thrusts as his grunts and groans grew and lengthened with his pounding cock. I clung to Edward as my thighs and stomach clenched with my imminent orgasm and I instinctually bowed my spine and hips more to meet his hammering cock.

"Edward… Edward, now!" I gasped in breathless awe.

Edward's growl grew too loud and he dropped onto his elbow and buried his face into my neck as he ripped the full length of his cock out of me and slammed it back into my depths. I pressed my soundless scream against Edward's hair as I was wracked by my powerful orgasm and I helplessly gripped his driving body as he fucked me furiously through my clenching climax.

"Bella, Bella, BELLA, _BELLA_!" Edward's loud groan turned into a hoarse yell too close to my ear. "OH, FUCK, _BELLA_! FUUUUCCCKK!" He shouted with his own ramming orgasm.

Edward pounded his last, erratic thrusts heavily into my pleasure swept body and I collapsed with him onto the bed and lay limply under his strong, muscular weight. Edward lifted his head from beside my ear after a long second and tenderly kissed me with a languid sweetness that burned the tear ducts in my eyes and I adoringly returned Edward's gentle kiss.

"Okay?" Edward asked with charming uncertainty against my mouth.

"Um, yeah…" I reassured him with a breath of laughter. "It was… awesome." I gently teased him with his earlier word.

Edward laughed softly and then greedily deepened our kiss and I moaned into his mouth as our tongues languorously tangled.

"Hey, guess what?" Edward asked my lips with hidden amusement in his husky murmur.

"What?" I mumbled distractedly as I tried to coax his lips to keep playing.

"I just had sex with Bella Swan… And she said I was awesome." Edward bragged with a puff of laughter. "Sorry, seventeen year old again." He explained his random comment cryptically but swept away my confusion with his heady kiss.

I lifted my heavy arms to sink my fingers into Edward's hair and wondered what fantasy land we were visiting that allowed me to be lying beneath the sweet, playful, sexy and too beautiful man kissing me in the dim, neon-lit room. I felt Edward's softened cock slip out of me with a flush of warm liquid and I squirmed slightly under his lazy weight so he would release me to go to the bathroom. Edward groaned softly and then eased himself up off my body before he collapsed heavily onto the mattress on his side.

"I think I broke my spine." He complained lightly.

"Really?" I teased as I pushed myself up to sit on the edge of the bed. "I just feel deliciously stretched." I admitted to the slight twinge I felt between my thighs.

"But okay?" Edward probed with sweet concern badly disguised in his casual query.

"Yeah… awesome." I repeated to hear his velvet laugh again as I stood up and started to cross to the bathroom.

I flashed a grin over my shoulder when Edward chuckled softly before we both froze at the sharp knock on my room's door.

"Room service." An almost familiar, male voice called quietly.

I raced for the door and grabbed the handle when I heard the door's catch release after a card was swiped through its reader.

"I didn't order room service." I called back and hid the panic in my voice. "You have the wrong room." I added unconcernedly.

"Bella Swan? Room eight-oh-eight?" The man queried smoothly.

"No! You have the wrong room." I repeated quickly.

Edward crashed into the door behind me and deftly secured the chain across the jamb even as he knocked my hands out of the way to tightly grip the handle when our unknown intruder tried to open the door.

"Fuck off! The lady said you have the wrong room. _You have the wrong room!_" Edward growled in a menacing voice that warned of imminent harm.

"Sorry, my bad. I have the wrong room." The man casually returned.

I quickly pressed up to look through the security peephole in the door but only saw the empty hall in front of my door before I spun for my purse and fumbled out my phone. I selected Ben's number in my contacts even as I rushed to pick up the receiver of the phone in my room and pressed '1' for the hotel's reception desk in almost the same movement.

"Ben, someone just tried to get into my room. Hold on…" I murmured rapidly as soon as I heard him answer my call.

"Front reception, Lauren speaking." A light female voice answered in my other ear as I was talking to Ben.

I smiled gratefully when Edward plucked my cell phone out of my hand to talk to Ben before I returned my attention to my other call.

"Hello? Sorry. Hi, this is Isabel Dwyer in room eight-oh-eight. Someone just tried to deliver room service to me and I was wondering if you could check what room it was meant to go to… I have a bet worth five dollars and a margarita if you can tell me it was room eight-eighteen." I smoothly covered the reason I was double-checking their room service schedule.

"Sure, let me check…" The front receptionist laughed. "Oh… I can't see any room service orders for the eighth floor. We have someone delivering to room twelve-twenty and then fourteen-oh-two." She naively shared too much.

"Oh, cool… We'll both have to buy each other a margarita. The five bucks will cancel each other out. Thanks so much, Lauren." I murmured sweetly and quickly ended the call.

I spun to face Edward and held out my hand for my phone and I mouthed 'sorry' as I accepted my handset and lifted it to my ear.

"Ben? Yeah, the front desk said there was no room service being delivered to my floor…" I muttered as I watched Edward grab his jacket and fish his own phone out of its inner pocket. "He called me Bella Swan." I added unhappily.

"Edward said… I'm on my way up to our room." Ben told me quietly.

"Not on your own!" I protested immediately.

"No, Emmett and Jasper are with me… Carlisle is taking Ang and the girls up to their suite. Edward and you are meeting them there." Ben informed me rapidly. "Ang was on the phone to Seth… Jay was on the phone to Charlie."

"Um, okay." I accepted uneasily. "Fuck, Ben!" I complained miserably with no words to describe my riot of emotions.

"I know… Okay, I've got to go now." Ben murmured and ended our call.

I stared down at my phone worriedly for a long second and then turned to find Edward and saw him pulling on his trousers with one hand as he talked rapidly into the phone he was holding with his other hand.

"Bella, where are your clothes?" Edward impatiently asked about my lack of luggage as he scanned my room.

"Laundry service… I have to go to the airport and sign for my bag tomorrow morning." I explained quietly and then unhappily accepted my skirt that Edward thrust into my hands. "I need a shower." I mumbled uncomfortably.

Edward glanced at my wet, sex slicked thighs and shook his head impatiently before he gestured for me to get dressed as he scooped up my tiny silk top from the floor and dropped it on the bed. I sighed heavily and looked around for my panties before I puffed out an involuntary laugh when I finally found them peeking out of the front pocket of Edward's unfastened trousers. Edward scowled and flicked his fingers to tell me to put on my skirt before he turned away from me and pushed my panties further into his pocket. I snickered quietly and quickly stepped into my skirt and then grabbed my silk top off the bed and tied it around my neck and waist before I crammed my feet into my ballet flats and hurried to collect my laptop and purse. Edward ended his call abruptly and quickly shrugged into his shirt and dropped his head to fasten his trousers and belt before he snagged up his jacket and thrust his arms through its sleeves.

"Ready to go?" Edward asked quietly.

I nodded quickly and stepped over to the door but let Edward catch my arm and turn me to face him before he pressed a sweet kiss against my mouth. Edward unchained the security catch and then eased open the door while he motioned for me to wait. I shifted impatiently while Edward checked that the hallway was empty before I stepped under the arm he offered and let him guide me away from the lifts.

"We'll take the stairs up two floors and meet up with Jasper and Emmett." Edward murmured next to my ear.

"Okay." I sighed quietly.

Edward opened the heavy fire door into the stairwell and then held my arm to make me pause after the door had clicked shut behind us while he listened intently to the silence for any sign that we weren't alone. I watched his fierce expression unhappily and then immediately stepped back under the shelter of his arm and trotted up the stairs pressed close to his side. Edward carefully eased the stairwell door open on the tenth floor and then grinned when he saw Jasper waiting for us in the empty hallway. Edward turned and swooped down with a swift, hard kiss for my lips and then swapped places in the hallway with Jasper and I opened my mouth to voice my protest but snapped my jaw shut when Jasper gestured for me to move to the stairs.

I started walking up the stairs two at a time and pushed myself to keep up with Jasper's swift stride and was out of breath when Jasper finally stopped at the door out onto the twentieth floor. I nodded my acceptance of his silent gesture for me to stand back and I tried to quiet my breathing when Jasper cracked open the door and eased out into the hallway. I slipped out into the hallway when Jasper beckoned me through the door and then trotted at his side down to the suite where I could see Alice playing lookout for our arrival.

"Bella!" Angela cried as she grabbed me in a too-tight hug as soon as Alice had ushered me through their door.

"Ang…" I returned quietly and carefully adjusted her arms so I could breathe in her embrace. "What's happening?" I queried worriedly.

"Ben's waiting with Emmett for Hotel Security… Our room was ransacked. Jasper is meeting Edward so they can search for Mr. Ponytail. I'm halfway through booking your flights home. I've got you on a flight to Rio de Janeiro and then connecting onto Belém. I just have to get you to Miami in time for your connection to Rio." Angela detailed rapidly.

"Um, sorry? Your room? Mr. Ponytail?" I mumbled and tried to shake off my daze.

"They turned our room upside down and took the two laptops… Ben had sent the Bio-Graft orders from today up to Jay before we went down to the Gala night and so there's no loss there." Angela expanded quickly. "Edward recognised the voice of the guy who came to your door. There's no Dr. James Banner attending the Symposium… And no one bought tickets for the Gala night under that name." She added quietly.

"They shouldn't look for him!" I complained and twisted free from Angela's arms. "Dr. Cullen? Mrs. Cullen? Alice? Can you call Edward and Jasper and tell them to come back? They don't need to find him! It doesn't matter who he is tonight and we have time to find out who is working for later." I appealed desperately as I turned to face Dr. Cullen, Esme and Alice.

"The boys thought it would be easier to find out who he is working for if we knew his name." Dr. Carlisle murmured soothingly.

"That's Charlie's job." I waved away his calm assurance. "Seriously, we need to call them back. The guy had two friends when I saw him earlier and they could all be armed." I pleaded urgently.

"The boys know that… They want to do this." Dr. Carlisle murmured unconcernedly.

"I've got to get you to Miami, Bella." Angela excused herself from our discussion.

I dazedly watched Angela as she hurried to an unknown laptop set up on the coffee table in the central living room of the massive suite. I bemusedly turned as Rosalie walked into the living room from a connecting doorway as she talked on the phone before she ended her call and pushed her handset into her small clutch.

"We have security footage of Ponytail and his two nondescript friends. Hotel Security is burning it onto a CD and I'm going to send it to Charlie from the internet café down the block." Rosalie announced composedly and I belatedly noticed she'd changed into jeans and a sweater.

"I'll come with you." Dr. Cullen volunteered and immediately started for the door.

"Bella? Edward said you wanted to shower… I have a change of clothes for you, too. And panties if you don't mind them worn but clean…" Esme interrupted me from my growing horror as I watched Rosalie and Dr. Cullen hurry to entangle themselves in my mess. "Alice is having some Tako sent up."

"Sure… Thanks." I accepted distractedly and meekly turned with the gentle hand Esme placed on my elbow. "Can we please call Edward?" I tried again miserably.

"He'll be fine, Bella." Esme murmured kindly. "It's better to let him run off his steam chasing your phantom admirer-slash-villain than have him pacing the suite." She assured me with a small smile.

"Sure…" I finally agreed uncertainly.

Esme guided me into a large, brightly lit bedroom and then pointed me towards the open ensuite bathroom and I smiled wanly and then watched her hurry away to get my change of clothes. I toed off my ballet flats and then padded into the ensuite and blushed hotly as I saw the mess of my destroyed hairdo in the mirror and Esme Cullen's offer to lend me some panties penetrated my slow brain. I started the shower running to let the water heat as I stripped out of my clothes and freed my hair from its wrecked chignon before I stepped under the almost scalding water and tried to wash away my worry.

I stood under the too hot water until the bathroom had filled with thick steam before I finally shut off the taps and stepped out of shower. Someone wrapped a towel around me from behind and I squeaked and skidded on my wet feet but hard fingers caught my arms to save my fall and I recognised the snap of energy in Edward's touch on my skin.

"Edward." I gasped with my surprise.

"Bella." Edward returned silkily. "We're going to have to do this again…" He informed me seriously.

"Um… pardon?" I mumbled uncertainly as I tried to guess what he was talking about while I quickly rubbed my back dry.

"This… The room so steamy you can barely see, the air so thick you can barely breathe…" Edward clarified wickedly.

"Um, okay, sure…" I muttered quietly as I hurriedly dried my arms and torso. "You'd like the jungle… You sweat just standing still and it's so humid that the air feels too dense to breathe." I offered as I bent to roughly to towel my legs.

"Um… okay, sure." Edward murmured and sounded distracted. "I'd love to live in the jungle with you, Bella Swan. Let me check with the hospital and see what I can arrange." He added after he'd cleared his throat.

I looked over my shoulder doubtfully and caught Edward staring at my ass with rapt attention and I rolled my eyes and straightened to quickly wrap my towel around my body. I reached for another towel and scrubbed at my wet hair before I bound it up in my towel like a turban and then carefully walked off the slippery tiles into the bedroom. Edward stalked me out of the bathroom and flicked on the extractor fan as he half closed the ensuite's door before he sat down on the edge of the bed next to the pile of folded clothes his mother had left on the mattress. I peeked at his serene expression before I decided to call his bluff and start getting dressed as if he wasn't there and I plucked off the towel I was wearing and let it drop to the floor.

Edward leaned back on one hand and scanned my naked body appreciatively before he flashed a boyish, crooked grin straight into my narrowed eyes and airily gestured for me to continue changing. I shook my head resignedly and reached for the plain, dark blue cotton panties and slid them on and then reached for the matching tank top with a built-in shelf bra and tugged it down my body over my towel wrapped head.

"I'm going to be punished… I shouldn't find my mom's underwear sexy." Edward joked huskily.

"You should be punished… You told your mom that I wasn't wearing panties tonight." I scolded him sternly as I reached for the soft lounging pajama pants Esme Cullen had laid out.

"You weren't wearing panties when you came up here. I didn't lie." Edward shrugged unconcernedly and then dazzled me with his cheeky grin.

"Edward…" I protested through my defeated laugh. "And you went charging after an unknown, potentially dangerous, random bad guy." I returned to my rant as I pulled on the lounging pants.

"We got his number plate." Edward excused his recklessness earnestly. "Jazz spotted him heading down to the parking garage and we raced him down the stairs. Charlie is following it up with the rental companies." He added with an edge of remaining excitement audible in his voice.

"You had fun." I accused him disbelievingly. "Um, your mom didn't get me another top… just this singlet top." I mumbled awkwardly.

"You can wear one of mine." Edward offered instantly.

He sprung up from the bed and moved swiftly to an unpacked travel case sitting on top of the room's dresser and I admired his lithe grace as he rummaged in his bag and then quickly returned to my side and held out a worn t-shirt. I smiled gratefully and quickly tugged it over my turbaned head before I peered down at the faded, washed out emblem on the front of the t-shirt.

"Is this your old baseball practice shirt?" I asked wonderingly. "From Forks High?"

"Um, yeah… Is it okay? I have other tees…" Edward offered hesitantly.

"No, it's cool. I just can't believe you still have it… and it's not all holey and ripped up." I murmured as I dropped my head to admire its Forks Spartans logo.

"It's finally worn in enough that it's comfortable. It's a bit small on me now, though." Edward smiled into my eyes and then gestured to the closed bedroom door. "Everyone wants to see that you're okay… My mom said you seemed subdued and Ang was still worried about you. And, if we don't head out soon, they'll think we're in here getting freaky." He added his wicked joke to his gentle suggestion.

"Sure, of course." I agreed and walked to the door with Edward's hand returned to its home against my lower back. "There was mention of Tako." I anticipated contentedly.

Edward reached for the door handle but quickly ducked down and pressed a brief, open mouthed kiss to my lips and I involuntarily followed the sweet promise of his mouth as he straightened away. Edward reversed his movement and returned his mouth to mine and gently coaxed my lips to follow his tantalizing lead and I turned to meet his kiss and snuck my hand under his untucked dress shirt and placed it on the bare skin of his waist.

"Tako." Edward promised huskily against my mouth.

"You." I bargained and trailed my fingers across his hard abs to his belt buckle.

"Later?" Edward countered hopefully but then flicked his tongue across my bottom lip.

"Soon later?" I clarified and copied the wicked path of his tongue against his soft, lower lip.

"Yeah… very soon later." Edward confirmed hoarsely.

Edward tore his mouth away from mine and raked his hand through his hair with a rueful smile and then quickly opened the door before we could get distracted again. I stepped through the door and kept my eyes trained on the room service cart near the coffee table to avoid the gazes I could feel focused on my feigned nonchalance as I exited Edward's bedroom. Alice flitted to my side and impulsively hugged me as I stopped in front of the cart and I quickly returned the tight pressure of her arms and then accepted the dish of the sweet Thai dessert she passed me with a quiet 'thank you'. Edward took his own serving of the coconut pudding and then waved me towards a two person loveseat and I blushed faintly with my shy smile before I quickly walked over to the small sofa and sat down to eat my dessert. Edward sank down beside me and I peeked sideways at his handsome, absorbed profile when he moaned softly as he sampled his dessert before I internally shook of my fascination and began eating my own pudding.

Emmett led Ben into the suite and then quickly disappeared into another bedroom and I watched Ben as he walked over to the couch where Angela was sitting and flopped down beside his wife before he tiredly rubbed his hand over his face. Ben lifted his hand to pause Angela's worried question when she opened her mouth to speak and then he pointed to Emmett's bedroom to explain his delay. Emmett soon stepped out from his room pulling a t-shirt over his head which he tugged down and tucked into his sweatpants as he hurried to the dessert cart and helped himself to two servings of Tako.

"Thai pudding thing, Ben?" Emmett called before he left the cart.

"Nah, man, I'm good." Ben waved away Emmett's offer with a new sense of friendship between the two men.

"So…? How did you go?" Angela quizzed impatiently.

I finally lifted my eyes from my almost finished dessert and scanned around the gathered couples who were watching Ben avidly until I met Esme Cullen's warm smile. I shyly returned Esme's smile and hurriedly dropped my gaze back to my dish before I peeked up from under my lashes and saw that she had turned her widened smile on to Edward.

"The hotel is covering the cost of the laptops and replacing our toiletries, your makeup and our clothes…" Ben murmured to Angela. "Charlie kicked up a stink about how Ponytail got a universal swipe card. The security guys are going to go back over all the cards that have been reported lost since Bio-Graft passed its final clinical trial but the head guy said he already knows it won't come to anything. Charlie was such an asshole that they didn't even question why we didn't want to bring in the police past me saying that it was a waste of time and I wanted us to enjoy our holiday in Vegas." He explained for all our ears.

"Toiletries, makeup, clothes?" I demanded more information quietly.

"They'd been watching too many spy movies… They emptied every container and smeared through their contents and they'd cut open every hem and pocket. The head security guy thought they must have had razors." Emmett detailed coolly.

I swallowed sickly at the thought of my possible intruder and Edward's possible assailant being armed with a razor and abruptly pushed up from the loveseat and stalked into the semi-private kitchenette with my plate and spoon. I set my dish beside the sink and then quickly searched for a glass in the cupboards and poured myself a glass of tap water. I drank my water thirstily and poured myself another glass before I leant back against Edward's comforting strength when he stepped close behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"He had a razor, Edward. Or, a knife that cut like a razor." I muttered unhappily.

"He's gone now, angel… And, even if he comes back, he won't get to you when you're with me." Edward vowed softly.

"Are you okay, B?" Angela asked gently from other side of the counter of the kitchenette with my rarely-used nickname.

"Yeah… Just thirsty. I'll be right out." I promised quickly.

"Sure… Take your time." Angela returned hesitantly.

I stood in the shelter of Edward's arms for another long minute as I stole some of his strength and steeled myself to be calm and flexible in the face of the present crisis. Edward kissed my neck after an endless beat in time and then smoothed his hands to clasp my waist.

"Okay?" Edward murmured softly.

"Yeah." I nodded and then straightened reluctantly away from his reassuring warmth.

I drank half my glass of water and then topped it up again before I turned to return to Edward's and my loveseat as I forced a serene smile on to my face. I walked swiftly back to join the others with Edward matching my rapid stride and we both sank down onto our cozy sofa in a synchronized move. Edward lifted his arm to rest along the back of the loveseat and I unconsciously shifted closer to his lean bulk before I relaxed my head against his shoulder.

"Bella? I called Seth back when you were in the shower…" Angela started uneasily. "He was busy… Busy watching someone crash Jay's office a second time. This time they wiped out everything… Seth said it was going to end up looking like someone had reformatted every hard disk in the office. It was a simultaneous attack with Buenos Aires… They wiped Argentine clean, too." She detailed unhappily.

"So… We're moving. They hit Buenos Aires and so we're pulling everyone back to the mother ship." I accepted quietly.

"Yep… Well, no… Matt and Bree are staying in Sao Paulo. They can't leave the trials, there's too much at stake…" Angela expanded uncomfortably and I nodded my understanding hurriedly. "And we're sending Embry to Bangkok… He can follow up on the last trials we conducted there and check for those new developments we've seen in Sao Paulo and Mexico City." She added carefully.

"Cool." I confirmed my agreement with the decisions made so far.

I stared down at my water and processed Angela's news from Seattle before I looked up and smiled distractedly into Angela's and Ben's concerned eyes.

"They only care about the blood…" I shared my conclusions. "They stole that rubbish this afternoon and were back to destroy it only a couple of hours later… They must be close with their own whole blood substitute. They didn't look carefully in to the at-first-glance-okay crap we sold them and so they mustn't need our research… They're close enough with their own stuff that they don't need to copy us, they just want to shoot our project dead in the water." I offered my thoughts.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so disparaging of pig's blood, Bella…" Ben teased me gently.

"You have all the same problems with pig's blood as you do with the real stuff, Ben." I disputed quickly. "It's still got a short shelf life and you still have the same difficulty transporting and storing it… The only difference is that you need farms and farms of porcine blood donors to match your supply. They'd have to have tens of thousands of pigs lined up to meet their demand. I'm calling PETA as soon as I know who to sic them on to." I decided abruptly.

Edward flashed me a dazzling, crooked smile that made my heart skip a beat and I blushed faintly as I returned his smile and wondered if everyone could see how much I was enamored with the too handsome man at my side.

"Um, Bella?" Angela called for my attention with barely disguised amusement in her voice. "I could only get you on a seven o'clock flight to Miami… I've arranged with the airline for you to be able sign for your bag at the check-in counter because their baggage claims office will still be closed. You have a three hour wait in Miami before your direct flight to Rio and then another two hours wait before your connection up to Belém. Jacob is picking you up at the airport and then you're both swinging by to pick up Maggie, Siobhan and Liam." She outlined quickly.

"Jacob? Jacob Black?" Edward queried uncertainly.

"Yes… Do you know Jacob?" Angela asked curiously.

"Only as Bella's ex…" Edward muttered quietly and had tensed beside me on the loveseat.

"Um, okay, Jacob Black is not my ex!" I denied instantly. "He's—" I started to tell Edward and his frozen mother and sister that Jacob was like my brother.

"Bella, don't lie!" Emmett laughed. "You must remember… Jacob Black? The huge guy with the vintage Triumph that used to drop you off at school almost every Monday morning…? After weekends of—" He teased me lightly.

"After weekends of trying to fix my truck… She was always breaking down." I hurriedly interrupted Emmett. "I never dated Jake. I'm not his type." I stated firmly.

"Sure… What's his type?" Emmett returned disbelievingly.

"Tall, built and likes to fuck…" Ben listed lazily.

"And Bella's short?" Rosalie asked with sly amusement lacing her voice.

"Yeah…" I sighed. "Plus I don't have a cock." I added matter of factually.

"That doesn't help." Ben agreed with me lightly.

I glanced uneasily around Edward's family and friends when I noticed that they were all watching Edward carefully before I looked questioningly at Angela and Ben but received only perplexed shrugs from them in return. Esme Cullen stood up abruptly from her position curled against her husband and started collecting everyone's empty Tako dishes to take into the kitchenette.

"It's getting late and we've all had… surprising… evenings. Bella, Alice and Jasper have to leave for the airport at five a.m. and I need my beauty sleep. Angela, I have another set of pajamas I can give you. Ben, you can sleep in one of Carlisle's tees, if you'd like. You can get ready in our ensuite while Carlisle pulls out the sofa bed." Esme hurried everyone to bed as she stacked plates.

"Bella, I have the desk delivering your laundry here at four-thirty… I'll pop in to make sure you're awake by then." Alice told me generously as she stood up and stretched.

"Thank you, Alice… I can take a taxi to the airport." I volunteered quickly.

"We'd like to take you, Bella." Jasper assured me quietly as he pushed up from his seat and wrapped his arms around his wife. "It will give you more chances to try to reverse the magnetic poles of my known world." He apologized obliquely with his joke.

"I can do that, Jasper." I accepted his joke as a challenge. "I'll see you both too early in the morning." I said as my goodnight.

"Goodnight, Bella." Alice smiled prettily.

I smiled my goodnight to Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie and then stood to return Angela's fierce hug and promise to say goodbye in the morning. Ben stepped behind us and hugged us together and wished me a gruff goodnight before he caught Angela's hand and carefully peeled her arms away from my body and then led her to follow Esme into her room to prepare for bed. I shyly turned to Edward and fidgeted with the hem of his t-shirt that I was wearing before I dragged my eyes up to meet his dark, unreadable eyes.

"Um, is it soon later?" I tried to joke away my awkwardness.

"Soon…" Edward promised with a tiny smile. "I just have to talk to Dad for a couple of minutes… Is that okay?" He asked tentatively.

"Of course." I assured him hurriedly. "I'll just… um, yeah…" I pointed over my shoulder towards his bedroom.

"I'll be in soon." Edward told me with a wider smile.

"Cool." I nodded and then spun towards his bedroom.

I hurried towards Edward's room and lifted my hand to say goodnight to Dr. Cullen before I slipped through the door and closed it gently behind me and then padded slowly over to the bed. I pulled my towel of my damp hair and hung it in the bathroom with the towel I had dropped earlier and quickly stooped to pick up my silk top and short skirt from the bathroom floor. I folded my outfit into a tiny bundle that I left next to my ballet flats and then I quickly stripped off my borrowed clothes before I impulsively slipped Edward's old baseball jersey back on to cover my nakedness. I crawled under the covers on Edward's king-sized bed and nestled my head into the luxurious pillow as I tried to relax after my tumultuous evening and I began counting my breaths to help me unwind. My eyelids started to weigh too much and I closed my eyes to rest my tired eyes and accidently slipped into a sound sleep.

A movement behind me in the bed startled me from my deep sleep and I rolled desperately away from my unknown companion with a barely stifled scream.

"Bella, it's me!" Edward's velvet voice soothed me immediately. "Sorry… I didn't want to wake you." He sighed.

"Sorry." I quietly apologized for my overreaction.

I rolled back to face Edward and rubbed my eyes before I blinked them open and looked at him in the soft light spilling out of the half open bathroom door. I smiled shyly when I met his eyes that looked black with the light behind him and then shifted closer to him and nestled into his strong chest. A twinge of arousal pulsed through my body when I felt the, now familiar, snap of electricity of his bare chest against my cheek and I pressed a moist, open mouthed kiss against his smooth skin. I lifted my hand to his waist and gently explored down further and felt my cheeks warm when I didn't discover any fabric covering his hip or thigh.

"You're naked." I informed Edward inanely.

"You're sleeping." He returned huskily. "You have a too early start in the morning." He reminded me after clearing his throat.

"I do…" I agreed softly. "You're naked." I told him again as I trailed my hand back up to his waist and then across his hard stomach.

"You're naked except for my baseball tee." Edward accused me silkily. "I saw the neat pile of clothes at the end of the bed."

I pressed another hot, moist kiss against his bare chest as my answer and then flicked my tongue over my invisible lip print and felt the hitch in Edward's breathing as a pulse of desire in my sex. I traced Edward's stomach down until I bumped my wrist against Edward's rigid hard-on and I twisted my hand to rub my palm up the underside of his cock.

"You're hard." I advised Edward seriously.

"Since I realized you were naked except for my baseball tee." He confirmed huskily and then groaned when I lightly gripped his straining cock.

I lifted my leg onto Edward's hip as I began kissing my way towards his divine mouth and I gasped in a breath when Edward immediately pushed his hand between my legs to tease and caress my already wet pussy. I kissed the corner of Edward's mouth and dodged his questing lips for an excruciating second.

"Can I hold on to that IOU for another time?" I panted as Edward found my clit even as he slipped his middle finger inside my slick entrance.

"Sure…" Edward agreed magnanimously and then groaned again as he crushed his mouth to my lips.

I submitted ecstatically to Edward's powerful kiss as I began to rub and stroke his impressive cock while his nimble hand tortured me towards my promised bliss. Edward eased his index finger into my body alongside his middle finger and I started to rock and twist against his teasing hand even as I increased the pressure and speed of my caresses along his hard-on. I broke my lips away from our kiss and tried to catch my ragged breath as Edward reached his other hand up to palm my breast through his baseball jersey.

"Edward… Can—?" I started to ask, plead, beg for more.

"Sure…" Edward agreed magnanimously and cut off my words.

Edward carefully eased himself to kneel beside me and only slowed his wicked torture of my slippery heat before he edged behind me and coaxed me to rise onto my hands and knees with his free hand on my hip. I moaned and pushed back onto his fingers and then flipped my hair over my shoulder and craned my head to look back at Edward with my lower lip caught between my teeth. Edward trapped my eyes with his too intense stare and then withdrew his working fingers to position his thick, swollen tip at my aching entrance. I rocked backwards and nudged his engorged head into my wet tightness and wracked a gasped curse from Edward as his eyes slammed shut and his jaw clenched against his need to thrust. I forced myself further on to Edward's straining cock and panted a moan before I dragged myself along his hard length until he was just stretching my entrance. Edward reached forward under his shirt and roughly palmed my breasts as he pushed himself too slowly inside me and I groaned at the feel of his exquisite torture. I began to rock myself up and down his rigid cock until I had worked his full length deep inside my sex before I pushed myself up to hold onto his neck behind me to better feel his pinching, rubbing hands on my breasts. Edward growled deep in his chest and began pumping up into my body and I stretched my back and angled my hips to allow him deeper into my gripping tunnel. I instinctively began to pulse my hips to meet his sharp thrusts and felt my orgasm tightening my stomach and thighs too quickly when his rigid cock started pushing a button deep inside me with every hard pump of his hips.

"Fuck!" I groaned and bowed my back more to meet his ramming cock.

"Ohhhh, angel… Bella! Ah… Ah… Ah… Ahhhh… Oh, fuck, you're cum-ing!" Edward grunted with his thrusts. "Oh, yeah, angel… Fucking cum on my cock. Yeah, oh, yeah… Ohhh, take it. Fucking take it." He groaned as he dropped one arm to hold my hips and started hammering his cock up into my clenching orgasm.

I gasped his name as I was held a helpless victim to my gripping pleasure and my whole body spasmed as I came up and down Edward's driving cock before I lost my strength and collapsed limply forward onto my hands. Edward fisted his free hand in his baseball jersey between my shoulder blades and increased his frantic thrusting to a furious, relentless pace.

"Ohhh, Bella. Fuck, I can't stop, angel. Sorry, angel, I can't fucking stop. Ah, ah, AH, _AH_, _AHHHHHH_! OH, YEAH! OH, FUCKING FUCK YEAAAHHHH!" Edward ended in a wild yell that echoed in the large room before he collapsed over my back with quaking limbs in the aftermath of his shuddering climax.

I weakly supported Edward lying heavily over my bridged back for a long second before Edward untwisted his fingers from my jersey and propped his fist on the mattress to lever his weight onto his still quivering arm. I gasped as he pulled his softening cock out of my body before I flopped down onto the bed with a happy groan. Edward followed my movement down and then rolled us both onto our sides but I eased myself away from him and then squirmed my body around to face him on the mattress. I shuffled closer against his hot, sweat slicked body and melded myself to his unyielding chest even as I pressed up to kiss him softly on the lips. I hummed a moan in my throat when Edward tenderly returned my kiss with a sweet persuasiveness that both soothed and tantalized my blissed out state.

"Um… Wow!" Edward rasped into my mouth.

"Yeah… Wow!" I agreed happily and played my tongue across his lips. "Sorry I came too quickly." I added ruefully.

"Okay… You're forgiven." Edward puffed with his soft laugh. "Hey, guess what?" He asked wickedly against my lips.

"What?" I sighed resignedly.

"I just had sex _again_ with Bella Swan… And I made her cum too quickly." He boasted lightly. "Just with my cock." He added proudly.

I groaned through my laugh and coaxed Edward to deepen our kiss and sighed blissfully when he rocked me onto my back and pushed up onto his elbow to hover above me as he tangled the fingers of his free hand underneath my hair. Edward led our lips and tongues to a new, lazily confident place where we kissed like longtime lovers who only wanted the other to feel good.

"Okay, you have to stop kissing me now." Edward scolded huskily against my mouth. "You have a too early start."

"M'kay, sure…" I murmured sweetly and lifted my fingers to knot in his hair and hold his mouth to my lips.

"Bella…" Edward chuckled his complaint and raised his head against the pressure of my hand to smile down into my eyes. "I wanted to take you to the airport… I have a breakfast I have to go to… Registration is at seven-thirty for a quarter to eight start. I can't not be there." He confessed unhappily.

"I'm fine to get a taxi… but, um, Jasper and Alice both seem to want to…" I offered awkwardly.

"Alice thinks Ponytail knew you because she called your name outside the ballroom." Edward told me gently.

"Um, no… My name and picture are out and about in the world. They would have known me before today." I admitted quietly. "I think Ponytail's approach was just to try and get to join in on our conversation… He wasn't close enough to hear what had everyone looking so poleaxed." I added softly.

"I can't speak for everyone but you kept smiling at me… And the whole liking it rough, liking it to last, liking it freaky, liking it dirty, liking it anyway you can get it, liking it hard… and, um… oh yeah, liking it to rub… that whole joking thing you had going on had me reeling, too." Edward joked lightly.

"You didn't think the fake blood was awesome?" I pouted prettily.

"Not as awesome as standing beside Bella Swan and having her smile at me." Edward whispered as his brow furrowed slightly while he stared into my eyes. "The fake blood thing was okay, I guess." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Edward…" I laughed over my protest. "Did I say we're testing it for altitudes, as well? So we know if we can chopper it up to the top of Mount Everest to give a climber a transfusion." I tried to impress him before I yawned and belatedly covered my mouth with a sheepish smile.

"Bella, you need to sleep. I want to keep you awake all night so we can talk but you need to sleep, angel…" Edward murmured with a deeper frown. "Would you really be able to take it to the top of Everest?" He asked in a whisper.

"Um, you probably would only want to take it to a base camp… More seriously, we're using the altitudes in Afghanistan as our base requirement. We're testing higher altitudes so we know its failing point." I detailed quietly.

"Ha— Are you—" Edward bit back his words. "Okay, you have to sleep now…" He half groaned.

I nodded as my luxurious laziness moved too close to sleepiness and relaxed down against the deep pillow while I smiled up into Edward's handsome face. Edward's smile made my heart skip and I blushed faintly as I realized I wanted to ask him to visit me in Brazil with his family but I swallowed my needy demand and closed my eyes against his beauty.

"Goodnight, Bella Swan." Edward murmured gently. "Hey, can you wake me in the morning if I'm sleeping?" He asked suddenly.

"Goodnight, Edward Cullen." I yawned. "Um, I can… I might not, though, sorry. I'm only guessing but I think you're going to look too perfect to disturb." I mumbled drowsily as my tiredness fogged my brain.

"You think I'm perfect?" Edward whispered silkily.

"Yeah… Hey, guess what?" I yawned hugely again.

"What?" Edward returned with a soft chuckle.

"I just had sex with Edward Cullen… twice… and it was perfect." I mumbled and then curled myself closer into his chest.

I smiled lazily at Edward's puffed breath of laughter and then hummed when I felt his lips against my temple. Sleep rolled over me and pulled me down as Edward's arm drew me further into his shelter and I blissfully wished that, if I dreamed, I would dream of the beautiful man holding me safe and who called me Angel.


	2. Welcome to the Jungle

**Disclaimer:**** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Welcome to the Jungle ( Bella )**

I smiled tiredly at Jacob Black as he climbed back into mini-bus after opening the gate into the compound of Cygnet Biotechnologies' main base and then I lifted the bottom of my wifebeater to wipe the sweat off my face.

"I'll close the gate and walk up to the house." I offered as Jake eased the bus through the potholes and then jerked to a stop.

"Okay… Are you going to talk to me and tell me what's been up with you for the last two weeks?" Jake muttered quietly as he stared out through the windscreen.

"I'm just tired… And overcrowded. Scientists can be temperamental when we're forced to share lab space." I joked self-depreciatively.

"We're more crowded now… Ang and Ben arrived in a caravan of taxis. Sue was fluttering around still cleaning rooms and complaining about mould and freaked out that they were early. She's sure that Ang bribed her way onto an earlier connection just to wreck her day." Jake smiled through the gathering rain spots on the smeared windscreen.

"Um, okay, Sue Clearwater-Swan does not flutter." I corrected him with a laugh as I shoved the stiff passenger door open. "I'll see you up at the house." I murmured as I eased my cramped body down to the ground.

"Sue has organized a special dinner… We're meant to dress properly." Jake warned me as I was closing my door.

I nodded and lifted my hand in a temporary farewell as I stepped back from the mini-bus and then turned to drag the tall gate closed. The anticipatory, late afternoon jungle sounds replaced the quiet grumble of the mini-van's departure and I looked up at the ominous clouds as heavier raindrops began to fall with the arrival of the day's overdue, monsoonal rain. I wrestled with the gates' lock and then stepped under the swaying canopy sheltering the dirt track and began the trek up to the cluster of laboratories and the main house of the compound. The storm clouds opened and I walked out into the middle of the track and let the hammering rain wash away the sweat and grime that dirtied my skin as I mentally ran over my long day's work.

I slicked the streaming water off my face exasperatedly when my thoughts quickly churned to the dream-like Dr. Edward Cullen who I had left sleeping peacefully in his Las Vegas hotel bedroom two weeks ago. I pushed my hands into the pockets of my soaked Bermuda shorts as I returned to my hopeless pining for the funny, sexy, handsome, charming man who I had fallen in love with during the one night we had spent together. Every yearning, schoolgirl emotion that had tormented me during my last year and half of high school had flooded back a million times stronger and I had been distracted and subdued for the fortnight since I had left Edward.

I looked up from the water sheeting the ground in front of my hiking boots when I walked into the wide, cleared area that held our disguised laboratories and the main house and I jogged through the pounding rain to help Jake unload the mini-bus.

"Darcy is wooing the guests." Jake nodded over towards the main house as he lifted out a carton of beer.

I stepped out from behind the bus and looked up to the wide verandah of the main house and grinned when I saw Mr. Darcy, our Hyacinth Macaw mascot, strutting along the railing with his huge wings outstretched. I scanned the verandah for a glimpse of who Mr. Darcy was preening for but couldn't penetrate the shadowed recess under the wide roof. I turned back to the bus and pointed between the boxed lab supplies, myself and the largest lab building to show Jake that I would pack away the rest of the load before I waved him to the house with the beer. I stacked a manageable load of boxes and then draped a tarp over the tower of cardboard and lifted it carefully out of the mini-bus before I strode swiftly through tropical storm to the lab's awning. I hit the intercom button with my elbow and smiled gratefully when our senior technician, Quil, opened the door and held out his hands for my boxes. I plucked the wet tarp off the stack and then trotted back to the bus for the last boxes which I hurriedly collected and carried through the door Quil had left propped open for my return trip.

"Sue called over. She wants you at the house immediately to greet our guests." Quil puffed as he rushed back from the storeroom and ushered me back out of the door. "Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars…" He joked easily.

"See you at dinner?" I asked loudly over the rain hammering on the awning.

"Yeah, see you at dinner." Quil returned with a wide smile as he stepped back from the closing door.

I ran over to the mini-bus and shoved the wet tarp into the back and slammed the door before I climbed in to the driver's seat and coaxed the whiny engine to life. I pushed it into gear and then drove it under the carport attached to the main house and grabbed my cotton, short-sleeved shirt off the passenger seat as I slid down to the ground. I slammed the door and bundled up my shirt into a tight wad in my hand and hurried around to the front of the house in the heavy rain before I trotted up the wide stairs to the shelter of the verandah. Mr. Darcy squawked loudly when I stepped under the tin roof and launched himself at me and I quickly held up my hand so he wouldn't perch on my bare shoulder with his sharp claws. The bright blue parrot landed heavily on my outstretched hand and I dropped my shirt to scratch his head and laughed softly when he began bouncing his three pound weight on my arm.

I turned to look for our guests and smiled when Alice flitted to my side through the French doors leading into the large, downstairs open-plan area of the house. I cheekily held out my arms for a hug and laughed again when Alice looked doubtfully between my soaked clothes and the large, flamboyant parrot watching her carefully from his perch on my hand. I smiled into Alice's narrowed eyes and then bent to press my wet cheek against her own soft cheek as my greeting before I resumed my scratching of Mr. Darcy's head when he spread his wings to demand more petting. I beckoned Alice to follow me to the lock box we kept full of brazil, macadamia and pine nuts and then showed her how to hold her arm out to entice Mr. Darcy to perch on her hand. Alice hesitantly selected a macadamia nut and offered it to the greedy bird who promptly rejected me to preen for his new girlfriend. I smiled indulgently at the awed expression that transformed Alice's cool beauty to a delighted, radiant glow before I turned to confront the obnoxious throat clearing that could only belong to Ben Cheney.

I froze and then snapped my mouth shut on my barbed retort and swallowed painfully when I saw Edward at Ben's side and I met Edward's jade eyes for an endless moment while I was buffeted by a riot of thoughts and emotions. I whipped my head around when Alice gasped before I quickly reached under her wrist to help her hold up Mr. Darcy's bouncing weight.

"He likes you." I told her reassuringly. "If you scratch right here… he might even leave Miss Bennett for you." I murmured as I showed how he most liked to be petted.

"He's beautiful." Alice breathed as she carefully reached up to replace my scratching hand on the parrot's head.

"Shhh, Alice… We tell him we only let him stay because he keeps Miss Bennett happy." I joked lightly.

"Here, I've got this." Jasper murmured as he reached carefully around from behind me to support his wife's hand. "You need to go and say hello to someone, Bella." He reproved me softly.

"Jazz, meet Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy, meet Jazz." Alice bubbled her sincere introduction between the parrot and Jasper. "Isn't he good at keeping Miss Bennett happy, Jazz? I'm not allowed to tell him he's beautiful because he'll get a big ego." She shared happily with her husband.

Jasper gently crowded me away to go and talk to Edward and I drew in a deep breath as I smoothed back the wisps of hair that were wetly plastered to my face before I walked lightly over to Ben and our guests with a forced smile. I carefully pressed my cheek against the side of Esme Cullen's face as we exchanged quiet, warm greetings before her place in front of me was taken by Rosalie and I repeated my air kiss and welcome in a soft murmur. Emmett stepped over to shake my hand with a mischievous gleam in his eye and I glanced suspiciously between him and Ben before I was distracted by Dr. Cullen's warm greeting. I politely offered my handshake to Dr. Cullen and hid my surprise as I let him draw me forward to touch his cool cheek against my own as he carefully stood back from my wet clothes and body. I stepped back from Carlisle Cullen who had reminded me, again, to call him Carlisle and then gamely turned to face Ben and Edward. I smiled distantly at Ben's worrying amusement before I closed the short distance between me and the statue of Edward Cullen.

"Welcome to the jungle." I tried to joke away my pulverizing nerves as I stood in front of the inhumanly beautiful man that I now knew I loved beyond reason.

"Bella Swan! You are dripping wet!" Sue, my step-mother, scolded me fiercely as she bustled out on to the verandah with an arm full of umbrellas.

Edward clicked his teeth shut on the words he was going to say and abruptly spun to relieve Sue of her umbrellas. Ben started snickering and I could hear a muffled snort of laughter from Emmett behind my back and I blushed hotly as I looked down and realized that my wifebeater and shorts were wetly clinging to my body. I embarrassedly eased my thin singlet away from my torso and saw that I was, in fact, leaving large splash marks on the wooden deck from the water dripping off my saturated clothes.

"Um, yeah. Sorry… I had a shower on my way over here." I nodded out towards the sheeting rain.

"Okay, you can joke about it, sure." Sue grouched quietly. "Would you walk everyone down to their bungalows? They know which suites they are in." She asked breezily in a sudden change of mood.

"Of course." I readily agreed and hid my frown at her abruptness when she immediately turned back into the house. "What time to you want us back for dinner?" I called after Sue.

"Seven o'clock for cocktails." Sue yelled back as she hurried for her kitchen.

I spun to face our large party of guests and smiled awkwardly when I saw that they were all watching me as they stood near the stairs ready to descend into the tropical downpour. Ben pointed into the house to tell me that he was staying and I nodded before I started walking over to Edward who was waiting on the top step with his open umbrella held out in the rain. I gasped and ducked instinctively when Mr. Darcy swooped past too close to my head and then watched in amazement as he landed on Edward's broad shoulder and excitedly started shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Um… Wow!" I mumbled as I stopped beside Edward and the dancing Parrot.

"Yeah… Wow!" Edward chuckled. "I was waiting on the verandah and he showed me his stash of nuts. I, kind of, had to help him open the latch because he couldn't quite manage it. I think we're going steady now…" Edward joked as he smiled at his new, brightly plumed best friend.

I shook my head in bemusement and then beckoned Edward forward as I stepped out from under the shelter of the verandah into the heavy rain. I watched Edward out of the corner of my eye as he carefully glided down the stairs so he didn't jostle his feathered passenger before I stopped at the bottom of the stairs to make sure everyone was okay following me in the rain. I jogged to catch up with Edward and pointed towards the path on the edge of the clearing that lead through the jungle to the guest bungalows. Carlisle and Esme hurried through the puddles to catch up to me, Edward and Mr. Darcy and I laughed softly as they watched Mr. Darcy bob and weave to impress Edward as he carried him under their shared umbrella.

"You have a beautiful secret lair." Esme told me with a warm smile.

"There's a lot of pirate booty in Ecotourism. Sue runs the resort and supervises the kitchen, Charlie handles the fishing and wildlife jaunts and Jake and Seth are all over the adventure tours." I explained happily. "We are always careful when we have outside guests staying with us but it means that we can hide in plain sight. Plus, it covers the base operating costs and our salaries for the labs." I shared lightly.

"I think you could charge board from your staff. I can't imagine being able to work in a tropical paradise… and getting paid for the privilege." Esme murmured as we stepped under the thick jungle canopy sheltering the path.

"We don't pay much." I sighed. "We take advantage of our tropical paradise setting… and the fact that the cost of living is much cheaper down here. We also try to make sure our people are happy… and working on what they're passionate about." I volunteered quietly.

"Liam and Siobhan seemed very content when they gave us a guided tour of their lab." Carlisle interjected easily. "You didn't say that you were finalizing a Dengue Fever vaccine." He accused me mock sternly.

"I think Jazz was almost in tears." Edward joked softly. "He hugged Liam." He laughed suddenly and then gently reached up to soothe his startled parrot.

"Bella? Are there poisonous spiders here?" Alice demanded worriedly from behind me on the path. "Emmett says there are the most venomous spiders on the planet living in my room!"

"Um, sure… the Brazilian Wandering Spider, or Armed Spider… but they won't be in your bungalow, I promise." I called back quickly. "If you are worried, one of us will come to help." I reassured her as I turned to walk backwards on the path.

"What about frogs?" Rosalie called forward uncertainly.

"Sure… the Poisoned Dart Frog… They are really pretty. Just don't touch their skin." I warned seriously. "You can call Sue, Charlie, Jake, Seth or me and we'll come immediately if you see anything that scares you." I promised again.

I spun around when a flash of blue speeding from the canopy crashed onto Edward's shoulder beside Mr. Darcy and stared at the sight of the two, now chattering, Hyacinth Macaws hitchhiking under Edward's umbrella with my mouth open. I met Edward's startled eyes and shook off my amazement and pointed at the smaller parrot clutching at his shirt.

"Miss Bennett." I explained simply. "Um, she doesn't like people much." I added as I slicked the water off my face to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

"Except me." Edward disagreed happily as he smiled at the young, female parrot.

"Except you." I confirmed with quiet wonder obvious in my voice.

I stopped when we walked into a small clearing and then smiled when Rosalie and Emmett peeled away from the back of our procession to hurry up the stairs to their luxury, five-star bungalow. I trotted ahead to catch up with Edward and his two feathered friends and I shyly returned his blinding smile as he looked away from the timid Miss Bennett and trapped me with his mesmerizing eyes.

"Bella? This is us." Jasper called from where he and Alice had stopped beside a tributary path signposted with a name of a suite.

"Oh! Sorry, Jasper. Sorry, Alice. See you at seven." I called after them sheepishly.

I caught the shared smiles between Carlisle and Esme Cullen and blushed hotly as I realized I had been sprung in my absorption with Edward. I peeked sideways at Edward and thankfully saw that he had returned to his own fascination with the beautiful Macaws riding his shoulder.

"The five HIV vaccines that were whispered to have been shelved…" Carlisle murmured and then trailed away leadingly.

"Their creators all heard about us… or we heard about them and approached them to join us." I confirmed quietly. "Embry, who is in Bangkok at the moment, is our lead immunologist on the HIV project. We asked the others what vaccine they thought was the most needed and asked if they wanted to work on their choice. Liam brought Siobhan and Maggie with him when he joined us and they started on their Dengue Fever vaccine after nailing Malaria." I expanded further.

"We didn't get to meet Maggie." Esme filled in the next awkward gap in our conversation.

"She's lovely… We all think she's great. How long are you staying?" I tacked on my question without thinking. "Um, sorry, I've been distracted and haven't kept up with the planning for your visit." I mumbled and blushed again as the realization struck that I was walking beside the only source of my distraction.

"Most of us are staying for the four days that Ang and Ben had planned." Esme murmured with a small smile.

"Are you working on something new, Bella?" Carlisle asked diffidently and diverted me from my follow up query.

"Um, I… No." I admitted with a sigh.

"I'd like to put in an order for a cornea… and biosynthetic nerves." Edward told Mr. Darcy seriously.

"Spinal lesions? Neurotmesis?" Dr. Carlisle Cullen asked his son musingly.

"Yes. Neurotmesis. Spinals plus any other injury where the nerves have been cut, crushed or damaged with little chance of regeneration." Edward explained his request rapidly. "Someone had left their lights on in the hospital car park and asked me if I had any jumper cables… It made me wonder if Bella could make me some nerve jumper cables." He added with a sideways, crooked smile at me that made me forget to exhale.

"That would be a hot product for the Developed world where the best pirate booty can be found." Esme thought aloud. "You might have wheelchair manufacturers trying to shut you down, Bella." She suggested with a proud smile at her son.

I nodded thoughtfully and pushed my hands into the pockets of my saturated Bermuda shorts and chewed my bottom lip as I pondered Edward's request.

"They would end up being like jumper cables, wouldn't they?" I mused. "I have to go back and do some reading but you have your axons bundled together… and then a layer of something and then your sheath of connective tissue." I tried to remember my too long ago studies.

"They'd have to be able to carry electrochemical impulses." Carlisle warned carefully.

"I have a lot of reading to do." I sighed.

Esme and Carlisle Cullen stopped on the path as we walked past a branching offshoot and Esme pointed at the discreet sign that named their suite. I smiled my goodbye and then turned to hurry to catch up to Edward as he casually carried the two Hyacinth Macaws under his umbrella through the heavy raindrops that fell intermittently from the jungle canopy. I covertly admired Edward's graceful strength and lithe body in his olive green, tropical weight cargo pants and white, short-sleeved shirt but then forced myself to concentrate on the path when I stepped in an unexpectedly deep puddle. I recovered my stride smoothly from my splashing lurch but blushed when I heard Edward's soft chuckle and Mr. Darcy's excited chatter.

"Do you know that some indigenous Amazonians use Hyacinth Macaw feathers to make headdresses and jewelry?" I murmured distantly.

"Did you just threaten my parrot?" Edward asked disbelievingly.

"No… I was just sharing an interesting fact." I shrugged coolly. "Mr. Darcy is his own parrot." I added with a haughty sniff.

I ducked my head to hide my automatic smile at Edward's delighted laugh and then veered towards the left hand fork of the branch in the path that led down to the remaining guest villas. I stopped with a frown when Edward started up the narrower fork towards the staff housing and I impatiently waited for him to realize he had taken the wrong path.

"Are you coming, Bella?" Edward called from where he had stopped twenty yards down the track. "Sue put me in one of the staff bungalows." He explained easily.

I immediately started up the path towards him and self consciously dropped my head to avoid his eyes that I imagined I could feel on my soaked body as a burning weight. Edward waited for me on the path and smoothly turned to match my quick stride as I walked up to his side and we continued towards the staff housing in a growing silence.

"There are already some corneas being developed by other Biotechs." I told Edward to break our increasingly uncomfortable tension. "One looks like it promises full biointegration with tissue regrowth into the synthetic cornea. I can put you in touch with that team…" I offered quietly.

"Really? I had only heard about plastic inserts being worked on." Edward double-checked quickly. "Do you talk to other teams?" He asked uncertainly.

"Really, they're developing that cornea in the UK… There's a lot of sharing on the science side of things but we get secretive when we're talking about proprietary products and uses. You'll be able to talk with them about what their cornea promises and how it will be presented to the market but not about how they've made it or how it's trialing. They might be more open with you because they know Cygnet isn't working on a cornea but, maybe, not." I offered carefully.

I stopped at the end of the path where it branched into many different directions and then peered up one short path when I heard a piercing whistle. I raised my hand in a wave to Jake and Seth who were lounging on their verandah and enjoying the brief respite from the oppressive heat that the afternoon's rain had brought.

"Who's your friend, Bells? And what has he done to Miss Bennett?" Jake demanded jokingly.

I sighed resignedly and then beckoned for Edward to follow me up the short walk to Jake's and Seth's tropical love nest. I hurried across the small clearing through the teeming rain and then trotted up their porch stairs and sluiced the fresh water off my face and arms. I smiled as Seth immediately lifted his feet off the railing and stood up to open their lockbox of treats for Mr. Darcy. I turned to watch with awe as Miss Bennett nervously shifted her weight on Edward's shoulder but stayed pressed against Mr. Darcy as Edward carried her towards the nuts.

"This is Dr. Edward Cullen. Edward, this is Jacob Black and Seth Clearwater." I introduced them distractedly as I watched Miss Bennett take a pine nut from Edward's hand. "Um… I don't know what Edward's done to Miss Bennett."

"Put them on the railing and grab a beer, Edward." Jake invited lightly as he gestured at the cooler beside his chair.

Seth, Jake and I watched in wonder as Edward grabbed a large handful of nuts and then enticed Miss Bennett to leave his shoulder and join Mr. Darcy on the porch railing near Jake's oversized feet. Edward took the chair that Seth waved him to and accepted the beer Jake opened for him while he shared his handful of nuts between the two Macaws.

"I'll get fruit." Seth muttered and quietly slipped through the open French doors into their bungalow.

"Thanks… Beer has never tasted as good as it has this afternoon. And I like beer… a lot." Edward smiled in belated thanks for his drink.

"It's the humidity." Jake agreed easily. "Didn't you used to go to Forks High? You had a silver Volvo, right?" He quizzed lazily.

"Yep. You had a Bonneville." Edward acknowledged as he fended Mr. Darcy away from the nut he was offering Miss Bennett.

"Pineapple, banana and açaí berries…" Seth murmured as he returned with a plate of fruit for Edward to share with the parrots.

"Awesome… Thanks, Seth." Edward smiled crookedly as he accepted the cut fruit and offered Miss Bennett a berry.

I turned my head away to hide my smirk when Seth blinked away his reaction to Edward's easy smile and turned to Jake with widened eyes. Jake smiled and shrugged out at the monsoonal rain as he raised his bottle of beer to his lips before he returned to watching the two parrots on the railing.

"So, Edward… You're our new neighbor…" Seth ventured after clearing his throat lightly. "Can I try a berry for Miss Bennett?" He asked abruptly.

"I'll distract the greedy one, you feed her." Edward agreed with a velvet chuckle. "Has Mr. Darcy bitten anyone?" He queried lightly and was only half joking as he eyed the parrot's large, curved beak.

"Jake… when he was looking after his leg. He hasn't ever taken his grabbing for food too far. He hasn't even bitten Ben." I reassured Edward softly. "You more have to watch his claws… He will walk up your bare arm and not know that he's really hurting you." I added warningly.

"Miss Bennett, you are an awesome chick." Seth joked to the smaller parrot who was happily taking berries from his hand.

Jake and I groaned at Seth's attempt at humor but Edward laughed softly and deftly reached out to scratch the pretty parrot's head. I met Seth's stunned eyes as he looked away from the shocking sight of seeing the timid bird's first pat before he nonchalantly raised his own trembling fingers to scratch her neck.

"Fuck…" Jake muttered down to his beer bottle. "Miss Bennett has lived with us for two years… She's never taken a pine nut off a railing near a human's hand before… And now she's being petted." He told the falling rain.

"Oh… Sorry." Edward muttered and quickly pulled back his hand.

"Irmão, I wasn't correcting you… It's just amazing. It's a good thing. I've always worried that Miss Bennett will leave because Darcy hangs around us too much..." Jake assured him softly.

"Mr. Darcy was too young when he hurt his leg… We offered to take him to the zoo here but, at the time, they couldn't take him in with his injury. We didn't realize that he would bond so strongly with us and not want to leave" I explained quietly.

"We tried not feeding him, we tried training him to eat at food stations we left for him in the jungle, we tried putting up lures to scare him away from the buildings… He just got hungry and, in the end, sick." Jake remembered darkly.

"But it will all work out now… Miss Bennett, you are an awesomely awesome chick." Seth broke Jake's mood with his light comment to the preening young Macaw.

"What time is dinner?" Jake asked suddenly.

"Seven o'clock for cocktails." I murmured and then checked my oversized, waterproof wristwatch. "Two hours… Edward, do you need a lie down before dinner?" I asked politely.

I scowled and huffed out an exasperated breath when Seth started snickering at my innocent comment before I forgot my discomfort when I met Edward's wickedly amused eyes and felt a flash of heat race through my body. I dragged my eyes away after one charged second and looked out into the heavy rain as I wondered if my heart would mend if I indulged my body for the four days that Edward was visiting.

"Can I leave Miss Bennett with you, Seth?" Edward murmured smoothly. "Jake, thanks for the beer. I'll make sure I stock the fridge and have you and the Macaws over to return the favor."

"Sure, irmão. See you at dinner." Seth returned lightly.

"It was nice meeting the guy across the parking lot after all these years. See you at dinner, irmão." Jake murmured cryptically.

I moved to the edge of the verandah and stood at the top of the steps while Edward shook Jake's and Seth's hands and then strode swiftly over to my side. I waited for Edward to open his umbrella before I trotted down the stairs and hurried for the covered path. I walked swiftly back to the junction in the main path and then hesitated awkwardly and flicked a glance around the intersecting tracks while I tried to guess where Edward was staying.

"I'm up here." Edward pointed to the path that led to my bungalow. "Sue drove me down earlier in a golf cart with the spare key." He added gently.

"You're staying with me?" I asked uncertainly.

"If it's okay…" Edward murmured as he looked up the path towards my tropical hideaway.

"Um, sure." I agreed hesitantly.

I stepped around Edward and began walking quickly towards my private sanctuary while I tried to process my churning emotions of confusion, desire and hopeless yearning for this man who could charm the birds out of the trees. Edward easily matched my swift stride and I peeked sideways at his handsome profile as we crossed the small clearing to the wide verandah encasing my small bungalow. I trotted up the porch steps and paused to wait for Edward to close his umbrella before I showed him where I hid my key near Mr. Darcy's lockbox of nuts.

I unlocked the French doors and propped them open before I switched on the overhead fan and waved Edward inside to make himself at home in his temporary accommodation. I sat down on the wooden deck and began unlacing my waterlogged hiking boots before I pulled them and my soaked socks off with a grimace. Edward walked back out onto the verandah and offered his hand to help me stand and I briefly closed my eyes at the familiar snap of energy I felt spark on my wet skin at his touch. I shyly accepted the towel Edward passed me and then flashed my eyes up to meet his glittering, jade gaze when he wiped his thumb across my wet cheek.

"You have an outdoor shower…" Edward murmured huskily.

"Um, yeah… I usually strip off there to save the trail of water and footprints through the house." I explained unnecessarily.

Edward nodded and then broke his eyes away from our intense stare to look along the verandah to the slatted wooden gate through to my bathroom that opened up to the jungle outdoors. I felt a curl of desire flick through my body when Edward swallowed and then swung his eyes back to mine before he scanned his gaze down my body in my saturated, clinging clothes. I knew I couldn't resist Edward when he dragged his eyes slowly back to mine and quirked a devastating, crooked grin.

"Um… The same key opens the gate. Here, I'll show you." I invited as I stepped around Edward.

I hurried for the end of the verandah and felt the burn of desire match the burn in my cheeks as Edward stalked me to the gate. I fumbled with the key in my rush and gasped when Edward bent forward and pressed a hot, open mouthed kiss on the wet skin at the base of my neck. My fingers trembled while I struggled to open the gate and Edward continued his assault on my neck as he dropped his hands to hold my hips. I finally managed to twist the key in the lock to release the gate and I swung it open and let Edward crowd me through the narrow gap out into the teeming rain that thundered down in the ten foot break in the verandah.

Edward lifted his mouth from his sucking caresses on my neck and gasped at the sensation of the warm, drenching rain plastering his hair and clothes to his body as he kicked the gate shut. I turned into Edward's body and giddily returned his exuberant grin before I pushed up on my tiptoes to meet his descending mouth. I adoringly returned his heady kiss as we resumed our mouths' confident, sensual and unhesitating joining like homesick lovers who should never have been apart. Edward groaned as I swayed forward against his body and I ecstatically pressed up against his straining arousal as he deepened our kiss to a desperate level that met my building desire.

"Let's get you out of these wet clothes." Edward rasped against my lips.

Edward lifted his hands to the hem of my wifebeater and unceremoniously dragged it up over my head and threw it on the ground out our feet. I started fumbling his shirts buttons open as Edward unfastened my bra clasp and peeled its shoulder straps down my arms. I moaned and sagged limply against him when he immediately dove down and sucked one of my erect nipples into his hot mouth and began his delicious torture with his teeth, lips and tongue. Edward wrapped one arm around my hips to support my unsteady balance even as he snuck his other hand between our bodies to undo the button and zip of my clinging shorts. I weakly resumed my unbuttoning efforts and managed to free his shirt's last button from its narrow slot before Edward sucked his lips strongly off my nipple and raised his mouth up to reclaim mine in a bruising, powerful kiss.

"Can we pretend that I had one ounce of self-control and we talked before we, uh, got it on again?" Edward muttered hoarsely against my mouth as he dragged my wet shorts and panties down my legs.

"Sure…" I agreed readily as I stepped out of the tangle of soaked fabric at my feet.

I reached my hands to the waistband of his cargo pants but then moaned impotently when Edward caught my hands in his and moved to trap them behind my back with one large hand even as he lowered his mouth to my other breast. I bowed my back to better offer myself to the onslaught of his mouth and hand on my breasts and trusted him to hold me steady with the hand he held me captive with against my arching spine. Edward scraped his teeth off my nipple and lifted his lips to my panting mouth with a brief, hard kiss that further stole my breath.

"You are so beautiful… I need more hands." Edward complained huskily to my lips.

Edward edged me backwards across the tiled open-air bathroom while distracting me with swooping, heady kisses that pushed my escalating need higher and higher. I started trying to wrestle my hands free from Edward's gentle vice around my wrists but froze when Edward carefully pressed my back against the tiled wall of the shower. Edward lifted his head and held my gaze with raw passion and another, indefinable, emotion shining out of his eyes as he carefully released my trapped wrists and then raised them to his shoulders.

"Bella, I need to make you feel good first… I'm going to last all of five seconds. Will you let me make you feel good, angel?" Edward rasped.

"Please…" I exhaled and nodded quickly.

Edward groaned softly and ducked down with a hot, heavy kiss for my mouth before he began pressing open mouthed kisses down my rain swept body. I drew in a shuddering breath and lifted my face up to the pouring rain with my eyes closed as the anticipation of what Edward was promising edged my desire even higher. Edward knelt in front of me and then carefully lifted one of my legs onto his broad shoulder and I flashed my eyes open to meet his heavy lidded gaze and lifted my shaking hands to his wet, flattened hair.

"Fuck!" I breathed through my gasping inhale when Edward pressed the flat of his tongue against my clit in a wet, sucking kiss.

Edward moaned against my sex and darted the hardened tip of his tongue to flick across my clitoris and I gasped his name and weakly bowed my head forward with the wracking pleasure of Edward's mouth. Edward began his sweet torture in earnest, using his lips, teeth and tongue to kiss, nibble and suck me towards my building climax, and I felt my stomach and thighs pulse with my threatening orgasm. I fluttered my hands helplessly against Edward's rain slicked hair and then knotted my hands in the collar of his unbuttoned shirt as my legs started to quiver and I began to press towards his wicked mouth. Edward growled with his lips sucking my clit and lifted his hand to sink two fingers into my yearning heat as he tongued me with a relentless rhythm that I couldn't deny.

I tightened my fists compulsively in his shirt collar and cried out Edward's name as I was overcome by my sweeping climax and I trembled through my clenching aftershocks as Edward soothed my sex with gentle kisses. Edward held me against the tiled wall while he carefully stood up before he pressed his straining cock into my stomach and bent his mouth next to my ear.

"You are so beautiful…" Edward repeated in a ragged whisper. "You are so fucking sexy it hurts." He added hoarsely as he sinuously rocked his hard-on against my stomach.

I desperately burrowed towards his mouth and kissed him passionately and deeply and swallowed his moan as Edward took over and led our lips and tongues to a darker, needier level. I gasped as he raised sure fingers to my pussy and then I hooked my leg around his thigh to open myself more to his caressing hand.

"Is this okay? You're not too sensitive?" Edward murmured huskily as he reached his other hand up to my aching breast.

"This is good." I panted and then moaned when he gently circled my swollen clit with his thumb. "This is perfect." I assured him breathily.

"You're perfect." Edward returned raggedly and caught my lips in a drugging, powerful kiss.

I stayed trapped in Edward's erotic spell as he teased my mouth, breasts and sex until I was aching for more and I broke our kiss and then ducked my head to dodge his greedy, demanding lips. I unhitched my leg from Edward's thigh and then turned to face the wall when Edward immediately removed his too talented fingers from my pussy. I looked over my shoulder through my wet eyelashes and met Edward's dark, glittering eyes as I pressed my ass back against his tented cargo pants.

"Can I have my five seconds now, please?" I asked in my best attempt at a seductive purr.

"Sure…" Edward agreed instantly with a crooked grin.

Edward returned his long, caressing fingers to my slippery heat while he unzipped his cargo pants and roughly pushed the clinging fabric off his hips. Edward edged my feet further apart with his foot and then gripped my waist with one hand as he replaced his working fingers with the thick tip of his swollen cock. I pushed my hips back towards his as he dragged his engorged head through my wetness and I started to writhe against his wicked torture when he rubbed himself against my throbbing clit.

"Fuck, Bella." Edward growled and wrapped his arm around my hips to hold me still. "Be good and stand still for me, okay, angel?" He demanded unfairly and then repeated his caress with his hot tip around my clit.

"Edward, I need—" I protested in a tiny voice.

"I need you to be good and stand still." Edward cut me off darkly.

I braced my arms straight against the wall and fought not to rock back against Edward's remorseless torture as he repeated his dragging pass through my quivery sex before he rubbed his cock against my clit. I moaned when he slicked back down my folds and nudged against my entrance without penetrating me before he dragged his engorged head up to tease my clit again.

"Edward, please." I begged unashamedly.

Edward slid himself back to my entrance and then rocked his hips forward to ease only an inch of his rigid length into my hot, aching body. Edward paused as we both panted to catch our ragged breaths in the monsoonal downpour before he pushed forward in a slow, inexorable advance through my tight heat until his hips were pressed against my ass.

"Bella… You feel so good, angel." Edward groaned into my ear. "It's not meant to feel this good."

I moaned my complaint when Edward ripped his cock out of my depths but then stood breathlessly waiting when he repositioned himself at my entrance. I groaned helplessly and tilted my hips to meet his relentless, slow thrust and gasped his name as he ground his full, straining length into me as he panted loudly next to my ear.

"You didn't say goodbye." Edward accused me as he reached both hands up to squeeze and pinch my breasts.

"You were sleeping." I protested raggedly.

Edward jerked his hard cock out of me and then immediately repeated his torturous, too slow return to my depths as he rubbed and pulled at my breasts and nipples. I moaned his name when he ground his base against my pussy and then shoved his hips up against my ass to pulse his rigid cock even further into my body.

"You didn't say goodbye and you left without giving me your phone number, email address or any other way of contacting you." Edward complained hoarsely. "You're not even on fucking Facebook." He rasped through gritted teeth.

"You were sleeping." I repeated doggedly.

Edward growled his frustration at my stubborn defense and ripped his swollen length back along my slippery grip before he slammed his cock into me up to his hilt.

"Was I just a good fuck? Is that all I am to you now?" Edward demanded roughly against my ear.

"No!" I protested breathlessly as he repeated his fast, ramming pass through my clenching heat.

"No?" Edward repeated disbelievingly with his next forceful, slapping plunge to my depths.

"No!" I insisted brokenly and bowed my head forward with the pulse of delicious tension his dark anger shot through my body.

"Bella…Ahhhh." Edward groaned as he heard the truth in my denials. "Ohhhh, fuck, Bella! Can you cum for me? I need you to cum for me, angel." He pleaded brokenly.

Edward dropped his hands from my breasts and wrapped one arm back around my hips and began rubbing and circling my clit with his other hand in a furious rhythm to match his pounding thrusts. I pushed back against the tiles and angled my hips up to meet his hammering cock and started panting his name through my hitching moans as he frantically chased both our orgasms. My stomach and thighs tightened dangerously and Edward growled loudly as he felt me clench around his impossibly bigger and harder cock and redoubled his wild thrusting.

"Yeah, like that, angel… Fucking like that! Ohhh, yeah. Ahhh… You feel so fucking good." Edward grunted. "Ahhhh… Oh, fuck, angel. You have to cum now… Cum on my cock, fucking cum on my cock!" He groaned.

My orgasm picked me up and my sex compulsively clamped around Edward's shooting, thrusting, driving cock as my arms and legs shook with the force of the pleasure that wracked and tightened my whole body.

"Ah, ah, yeah, fucking yeah! Ah, ah, ahhHHHH_HHHHHH!_" Edward ended in a wordless shout as he pounded his last erratic thrusts into my body.

Edward slumped against my body as we both struggled to breathe and I felt his thundering heart beating through his chest against my shoulder blade. Edward reached out and placed one hand against the tiled wall to support his leaning weight and pressed a hot, sucking kiss against my shoulder and I hummed a moan in my throat at the feel of his warm strength against my back.

"Okay? Not too much?" Edward rasped against my shoulder with sweet concern lacing his hoarse voice.

"Better than okay… And just enough." I reassured him through my heavy breathing.

Edward reached a trembling hand up to my waist as he withdrew his softening cock from my sex before he gently urged me to turn around. I shuffled to face his strong, sheltering body and returned his tender kiss dreamily as I lifted my hands to his heaving sides under his clinging, unbuttoned shirt. I wondered at the powerful chemistry between us when Edward gasped a breath against my lips at the touch of my hands against his hot skin before I moaned under his deepening kiss.

"And this is more for you than good sex?" Edward mumbled into my mouth.

"Yes." I confessed in a whisper.

Edward moaned and reached reverential hands up to cradle my jaw and kissed me urgently, passionately, adoringly and I lovingly returned his charged, heady kiss as I pulled myself against his relaxed body. Edward reluctantly broke his lips away from mine and inhaled a ragged breath with his forehead resting against mine before he drew back his head and smiled crookedly, joyously into my soul.

"I need to get out of these wet clothes." Edward murmured. "And then I need to lie down while I try to regenerate some of the bone marrow I just donated to you." He joked huskily.

I snickered quietly and pressed up to kiss his delectable lips as I lifted my hands to his shirt and carefully peeled it off his shoulders before I dragged it down off his arms. Edward stepped back and pushed his cargo pants down his muscular thighs as he toed off his sneakers and then kicked off the clinging fabric before he bent to peel off his sports socks. I reached over and turned on the shower and then grabbed my loofah and the unfamiliar bottle of men's shower gel on the ledge before I beckoned for Edward to step under the heavy spray. Edward watched me with heavy, intense eyes while I gently lathered, scrubbed and rinsed his body in the lessening rainstorm. I shut off the shower and stopped the protest he opened his mouth to speak with a cheeky kiss before I drew him under the narrow awning and grabbed a towel to reverently dry his sculpted body.

"Bella, what—" Edward began in a voice that sounded like worn velvet as I led him into my bedroom.

"Bone marrow, Edward." I reminded him smoothly. "Plus, probably, twenty plus hours of travelling… and our sapping heat and humidity. You need to lie down for an hour." I encouraged him seriously.

I switched on the overhead fan and then imperiously waved Edward to my king-sized bed that dominated the small, sparsely furnished room and I hid my smile when Edward carefully eased himself down onto the mattress with a tiny pout. I spun to pad into the kitchen and frowned when I passed a small mountain of luggage and stacked boxes that made my small living room feel cramped. I quickly mixed up two tall glasses of water, lime juice and electrolyte powder and carried them back into the bedroom while I eyed the unexplainable amount of luggage that Edward had brought for a four day holiday. I sipped my drink as I passed Edward his glass and flicked my eyes between the living room and Edward as he thirstily drank his cold drink.

"Have your shower and then we'll talk, Bella." Edward promised as he watched me with a careful smile. "What's in this?" He added curiously and raised his glass questioningly.

"Water with a squeeze of lime juice… and Sue's electrolyte powder. It has sodium and potassium salts, sugar, magnesium and calcium." I listed distractedly. "You brought a lot of luggage for a short trip." I mumbled uncertainly.

"Too much luggage for a short trip." Edward agreed easily. "Have your shower and we'll talk." He coaxed gently.

"Sure…" I accepted uneasily.

I drained my glass and set it on my bedside table and then padded back out to the shower and unhurriedly scrubbed myself with my strawberry body wash before I shampooed and conditioned my hair. I dried myself and slipped on my thin, cotton bathrobe before I brushed out my long hair and plaited it back into a French braid. I collected our wet clothing and draped it over the railing overlooking the jungle to dry more before I added it to my hamper of dirty laundry. I slipped back into my bedroom and smiled when I saw Edward fast asleep with his body stretched out across my bed like Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. I tiptoed to the bedside table to collect our empty glasses and then returned to the kitchen to mix myself another thirst quenching drink that I carried out onto my verandah. I sipped my drink in the rapidly descending darkness and processed my afternoon with Edward and the implications behind his mistaken belief that I only liked him because he was a fantastic lover.

I eventually blinked off my trancelike absorption with the perfect man hogging my bed and pushed myself out of my wicker chair to light the hurricane lamps hanging from my verandah. I wandered into my dark house and lit another two lamps before I crept into my bedroom and lit the hurricane lamp hanging in the open doors out to my bathroom. I turned and studied Edward sleeping peacefully with a faint smile curling his lips and decided to let him sleep for as long as possible before he had to get ready for dinner. I snuck to my dresser and pulled out my silken, navy pha sin tube skirt with a matching silk tank top before I rummaged through my underwear drawer for my navy lace bra and thong set.

I shed my bathrobe and quickly pulled on my thong and then fastened my bra behind my back and adjusted my breasts in its cups before I slipped my silk, navy tank top over my head and tugged it down to my waist. I flashed my eyes over to the bed when Edward lightly cleared his throat and I rolled my eyes when I saw his cheeky grin and dancing gaze that looked black in the dim light from the single hurricane lamp.

"Sorry, my throat suddenly felt like the Sahara." Edward apologized insincerely. "Watching a woman get dressed is not meant to be this sexy." He said with what sounded like an accusation in his voice.

"I'll get you a drink…" I murmured contritely as I stepped into and fastened my ankle length tube skirt. "Caipirinha?" I offered as I slid my feet into my leather flip-flops.

"Um, sure… What's in it?" Edward mumbled and then yawned hugely.

"Edward! It's only our national cocktail." I scolded lightly. "Cachaça, lime, cane sugar and ice." I listed and then spun to hurry to answer the wall phone in my kitchen when it started ringing.

"Hello?" I answered the shrill phone abruptly.

"Bells, we just had a procession of golf carts being driven by beautiful men turn up here." Jake pretended to complain.

"Send them over here, Jake… with their wives." I murmured pointedly. "You should hitch a ride and start cocktail hour early with us." I invited easily.

"Caipirinha?" Jake double-checked quickly.

"Of course… I'll start mixing and mashing." I smiled when I already knew his answer from his question.

"I better make sure these tourists don't take another wrong turn… We'll be there in five minutes." Jake murmured rapidly and hung up in my ear.

I spun away from the phone and collided with Edward's hard, naked chest and gasped at the spark of his hands when he grabbed my upper arms to, first, steady me and, then, pull me close to his body. I met his glittering, dark eyes in stunned awe and then weakly melted against his strong body when he swooped down and caught my mouth in a coaxing, persuasive kiss.

"Um, okay, I was just coming out to ask where I can start unpacking my clothes." Edward murmured huskily as he lifted his head after an endless moment of shared bliss. "I didn't want to be presumptuous in case you wanted me in the other room." He added softly.

"Our bedroom. You have about two minutes before the Carnival arrives." I warned him as I stepped around him to pull out limes and sugar to make a jug of cocktails. "Okay, sorry, you only have about fifteen seconds before you're flashing your oversized junk at Jake and Seth." I corrected myself as I saw headlights approaching our bungalow beyond the verandah.

"I like the sound of that… Um, the 'our bedroom' bit and not the junk part." Edward murmured as he watched me stretch for the large jug that lived on top of the refrigerator.

"Five seconds…" I warned as we heard the puny beep of a golf cart horn outside.

Edward flashed me a blinding grin and then spun and raced for his luggage ten steps away before he disappeared in to the bedroom to get changed for dinner. I quickly sliced five limes into eighths and then added the wedges with half a cup of sugar to the jug before I muddled the sugar and lime in the bottom of the jug with a wooden spoon I grabbed out of my utensils jar. I bent down to grab a bottle of Cachaça as I heard Emmett's booming laugh on my verandah and sloppily measured a generous two and half cups into the waiting jug. I flashed Jake a harried smile when he sauntered in to my kitchen and then began lifting lowball tumblers out from my cupboard above my sink and filling them with crushed ice from the icemaker in the fridge door.

"Thanks, Jake." I sighed as I stooped down to pull out a tray from my pots and pans cupboard.

"No, thank you…" Jake returned cryptically.

"You're welcome… for what?" I asked distractedly as I began pouring my caipirinha mix over the ice in the waiting glasses.

"For the glimpse of the hot, naked man in your living room…" Jake explained with a wicked grin.

I laughed softly and then concentrated on portioning out the clear rum cocktails before I quickly lined them up on the tray ready to be carried out to the verandah. Jake waved me away from the tray and I touched his elbow to say thank you as I began cutting more limes to mix another jug of caipirinha for our second round of cocktails.

"Bella, do we have scissors?" Edward interrupted me as I was measuring sugar in to the jug.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Edward tugging at the price tags of his white, long-sleeved button down shirt.

"Bottom drawer." I told him and nodded over to the drawer in question.

I bent down to pull out my last bottle of Cachaça and set it on the counter before I accepted the pair of scissors Edward passed me and then reached up on my tiptoes to snip off his tags behind his neck. I caught Edward staring raptly at my breasts and huffed a laugh before I nudged him to call his attention so I could give him back the scissors. Edward spun around and plucked at the price tags on his khaki chinos and I carefully snipped off the tags and then passed Edward the scissors to return to the drawer. I started mashing the limes and sugar together in the bottom of the jug and then leaned back against Edward's lean strength when he stepped behind me and rested his hands on my hips.

"What can I do?" Edward asked softly.

"Go and charm our guests." I returned and smiled up at him over my shoulder.

"I like the sound of that, too… 'our guests'." Edward murmured silkily and pressed a hot, moist kiss against my neck.

"Charm our guests… not me, Edward." I feigned sternness.

I smiled down at the crushed fruit and sugar in the jug at Edward's delighted laugh and then gasped when he pinched me on the ass as he smoothly sidled away to move out to the verandah. I measured the local Cachaça rum into the jug and then carried it out to the verandah and stopped in amazement when I saw Edward standing talking to Jasper, Alice, Rosalie and Emmett with Miss Bennett on his shoulder. Seth stepped over with Mr. Darcy to take the heavy jug of caipirinha from me and I accepted the cocktail he passed me in return with a distracted 'thank you' and then turned back to the amazing sight of Edward and the timid, female Macaw.

"I walked her over on my shoulder. Alice walked over with Darcy. As soon as our Miss Bennett saw Edward she deserted me." Seth muttered with an unfeigned, tiny pout as he followed my awed gaze over to Edward.

Edward reached up with a pine nut for his feathered girlfriend without breaking his focus on Emmett's speech and I watched in wonder as Miss Bennett deftly ate the small nut from between his thumb and his forefinger without hesitation. I shook my head and then sipped my cocktail as I turned away from the incredible sight before I walked lightly over to join Ben, Angela and Jake who were talking to Esme and Carlisle Cullen. I returned Angela's brief hug and then narrowed my eyes warningly at Ben's mischievous smirk before I exchanged air kisses with Esme and Carlisle and stepped back to Jake's side.

"Our son, the pirate." Esme Cullen murmured as she watched Edward laugh with his friends as Miss Bennett rode his shoulder.

Esme's quiet words, or the focus of our small group, caused Edward to glance over and my breath caught in my chest when he looked straight into my eyes and flashed me a heart stuttering smile. Time froze for me until Edward broke his eyes away from mine as he turned back to his friends and I gulped my rum cocktail and fought the blush rising in my cheeks.

"You stand no chance." Jake told me matter of factually and hid his smile against the rim of his glass.

"No chance…" I agreed with a sigh. "And thanks for sharing that fact with everyone." I grouched quietly.

"Bella… We can all see—" Ben started to laughingly admonish me for my snippy remark.

"Ben! I need a refill!" Angela stepped in to cut off Ben's teasing.

"Sure, honey." Ben accepted meekly.

I smiled gratefully at Angela as Ben hurried away to get the jug of caipirinha mix to refill everyone's glasses and then I blushed faintly as I met Esme's warm smile. Seth stepped behind Jake and slipped one arm around in front of his stomach and I smiled sideways at Seth and then stretched up and scratched Mr. Darcy's head. Angela and Jake resumed their quiet conversation with the Cullens and I kept one ear listening to their discussion even as I strained to hear Edward's velvet voice and soft, musical laugh just ten feet away. Ben bustled up to refill our glasses and I watched him suspiciously as he poured a measure of the rum and lime cocktail into my glass with his upcoming joke dancing in his eyes.

"Here you go, Bella. I'm sorry I took so long… because I know all you can think about is hitting it again." Ben joked too loudly in a pause in both groups' conversations.

"Fuck, Ben…" I complained miserably under my breath.

I met Ben's eyes and let him read that I couldn't joke about Edward as his teasing touched the sensitive nerve of the doubt existing between me and Edward that our new bond was only due to our chemistry and sexual connection.

"While you, Ben Cheney, are obviously not thinking about hitting it anytime in the next fortnight." Angela threatened coolly with her quick rejoinder.

Ben spun to stare at his wife with exaggerated horror as he hammed up his reaction to her retort even as he touched my forearm in a silent apology. I briefly laid my hand over his fingers to show my acceptance and gratitude of his understanding before I sipped my drink and discreetly checked my wristwatch.

"Is it almost time to head up to the house?" Edward's gentle, velvet voice behind me fanned my fading blush.

"Fifteen minutes." I confirmed quietly.

"Can I run the guys through the bungalow? They want to see my new digs." Edward asked softly as he raised one large hand to caress my waist through my silky top.

"Of course." I nodded quickly and fought not to outwardly show my reaction to his careless touch.

"Will you walk with me up to the house? I promised Miss Bennett I'd see her home." Edward murmured close to my ear.

"There's a flashlight in the bottom drawer with the scissors. We'll have to leave in five minutes." I accepted immediately.

"I'll put out the lamps and grab the flashlight." Edward promised and squeezed my waist as his temporary farewell.

Edward waved his parents and Angela and Ben to follow him into the bungalow with his friends and sister and I inhaled shakily when they had all moved curiously through the French doors into the living room.

"No chance at all… Do you think he has to register that voice as a weapon?" Jake mused lightly.

"Liquid sex." Seth agreed wickedly. "Resistance is futile, Bells. Just go with it." He recommended seriously.

"Miss Bennett just went in there with him…" I distracted them from their unhelpful relationship advice.

Jake and Seth both whipped around to stare after Edward and his clingy Macaw and Mr. Darcy raised his wings and chattered his protest at Seth's sudden, whirling movement. Seth automatically reached up to soothe the unsettled parrot on his shoulder as he gaped at the sight of Miss Bennett pressing nervously close to Edward's head as he ushered his guests through our bungalow. I finished my cocktail as I listened to Jake and Seth plan where they would take Emmett, Jasper, Edward and Carlisle the next afternoon and then turned to smile as Angela and Ben led Esme and Carlisle out on to the verandah. I collected everyone's empty glasses on the discarded tray and then carried them into my kitchen to wash up later before I smiled at Edward when he hurried past me with Miss Bennett to find the flashlight in my odds and ends drawer.

"I forgot to tell you before, Bella… you look stunning tonight." Edward murmured distractedly as he rifled through the drawer.

"So do you…" I returned sincerely as I crouched down beside him and waved him away from his search. "Your parrot really complements your eyes." I added jokingly and won a quiet chuckle from Edward.

I pulled out the windup lantern that didn't need regular batteries and lifted it onto the counter and started spinning its crank.

"That's not a flashlight." Edward scolded me for my inaccurate description. "Can I turn it?" He asked as he examined the lantern over my shoulder.

"You're a gadget man…" I surmised as I stepped aside to let Edward wind up the lantern.

"You're a practical woman." Edward returned with a flashing sideways smile as he spun the crank. "What's your favorite color?"

"Green…" I answered automatically. "That's enough for a good hour." I told him after thirty seconds of fast winding.

"Awesome…" Edward breathed as he turned the lantern in his hands to study it better. "What do you miss most, living down here?" He probed next as we moved in tandem towards the verandah.

"Sunsets… We don't get sunsets down here. One minute it is just starting to get dark and then, literally, the next minute it is pitch black." I explained my answer softly as I paused for Edward to douse the lamp in the living room.

"I slept through that…" Edward murmured. "I'll watch our one minute sunset with you tomorrow evening." He promised.

I smiled widely when we stepped out onto the verandah and I saw Alice and Jasper waiting alone at the top of the porch steps with Mr. Darcy swamping Alice's shoulder. Edward switched on the lantern and then passed it to Jasper so he could help me douse the hurricane lamps hanging along the verandah. Edward locked the French doors into our bungalow and then returned the key to his pocket and I blushed at his wicked smile when I remembered I had left the key in the gate through to the outdoor bathroom earlier.

"Ready?" Jasper asked simply as Edward stepped back to my side.

"Lead the way…" Edward smiled and gestured Jasper and Alice forward down the stairs.

Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett started chattering and shifting nervously on Alice's and Edward's shoulders and I skipped forward and slipped between Alice and Jasper and then waved Alice backwards to walk beside her brother.

"I think they want to be next to each other. It's past their bedtime and they should be roosting." I excused my rudeness.

"Macaws mate for life, don't they, Bella?" Edward asked as he smiled at Miss Bennett when she instantly settled with Mr. Darcy riding next to her on Alice's shoulder.

"Yep. That's why Jake has been worried about Miss Bennett leaving. We're not sure what Mr. Darcy would do…" I explained softly as we reached the junction on at the end of the path up to our bungalow and turned towards the main house.

"He'd fly after her… And wait by her side until she saw that they were meant to be together… always and forever." Alice answered as if it was simple.

"Alice…" Edward murmured and sounded like he was gently admonishing her for her carefree response.

"I don't think he'd have to wait for long… I think she'd already know that and would have only left because she had no choice… or, maybe, because she didn't know that he needed her to stay." Jasper offered thoughtfully.

"Jasper!" Edward protested with a laugh.

I glanced over my shoulder at Edward and returned his small, rueful smile tentatively before I peeked at Jasper's smug profile and then turned my eyes back to the track in front of my feet.

"We're not talking about the parrots anymore, are we?" I ventured uncertainly.

"Bella! Wait up!" A rich, female voice called from behind us on the path.

"Siobhan." I identified our hailer to Jasper, Alice and Edward as we stopped in the middle of the track.

I slipped behind Edward and Alice to wait for my colleagues to catch up to us and smiled my greeting to the hurrying scientists as they arrived at our position on the track.

"Siobhan, Maggie and Liam. Quil and Claire. Sam and Emily. Jared, Paul and Leah." I named each person as they stepped into the pool of light thrown out by Jasper's lantern. "Guys, I hope you've all met Jasper, Alice and Edward." I added smoothly.

"I haven't." Maggie piped up cheerfully. "Hi, Jasper, Alice and Edward! Sorry I missed you this afternoon." She bubbled brightly.

"Is that Miss Bennett?" Quil asked uncertainly.

"Yeah… I think she likes me." Edward murmured as he smiled at the shy Macaw on his shoulder.

"Talk and walk, people. We have cocktails waiting for us." Siobhan reminded everyone bossily. "Jasper, will you be our guiding light?" She flirted in an abrupt change of tone.

"It would be my pleasure, darlin'." Jasper returned in a thick, syrupy Southern accent.

Siobhan giggled and tucked her hand under Jasper's elbow and let him lead her forward while everyone else fell into step behind them on the path. I smiled shyly at Edward when he reached down to clasp my hand and I stepped close to his side as he entwined his fingers with mine while he exchanged casual pleasantries with Maggie and Emily. I walked silently beside Edward as I processed the strange exchange that Siobhan had interrupted and then cycled through the odd hints and clues from my afternoon and evening.

"Bella? Where did the speeding golf carts come from just now?" Quil interrupted my introspection as he walked backwards to look back at me on the path.

"Our bungalow, sorry." I owned distractedly and raised my arm to show him Edward's and my joined hands. "Ouch…" I added under my breath as I tried to pull my hand free from Edward's, suddenly, too tight grip.

"Sorry!" Edward apologized and instantly relaxed his iron fingers. "You just used my new favorite word." He explained for only my ears.

"Bungalow?" I pretended confusion in an automatic joke.

"Yeah… bungalow." Edward agreed and carefully squeezed my fingers with his crooked, sideways smile. "Alice? I think Miss Bennett lives somewhere around here…" He alerted Alice in a louder voice as he slowed near where the young parrot had swooped down from the canopy on our earlier walk in the rain.

I diffidently pointed to the tall palm a few yards off the path where Jake had installed an artificial nest and then watched with a wide smile when Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett flew up to their nighttime roost in a synchronized flurry of blue wings. Alice shot me and Edward a blinding smile before she flitted forward to rejoin Jasper at the front of our procession and Edward indulgently shook his head as he watched his twin sister dash towards her husband. I resisted Edward's gentle tug when he tried to draw me back onto the path and avoided meeting his eyes until everyone had walked past us with ill disguised curious glances. I felt Edward's eyes burning my profile and flashed him a smile as I moved with his tentatively repeated pressure on my hand to guide me onto the track at the tail of the snaking line of scientists.

"You packed way too much for a four day holiday…" I suggested quietly.

"I did. I could have gotten away with one rucksack's worth of clothes." Edward agreed softly.

"You have a brand new, tropical weight wardrobe…?" I ventured carefully and ended up sounding like I was posing a question.

"I do. My Seattle wardrobe consisted mainly of jeans, sweaters, long-sleeved tees… and scrubs." Edward confirmed and had guessed where I was heading with my carefully worded statements. "Alice helped me out… I was busy chasing up a few things during the last fortnight." He volunteered.

I nodded thoughtfully and felt my heart rate spike as I processed the implications of Edward's words and I shot him a giddy smile when he, too casually, transferred my hand to his other palm and lifted his freed hand to my lower back. I blinked away my awe and trained my eyes on the path in front of my feet when he returned my dizzy smile with a devastating grin that dazzled me to my soul.

"When do you have to be back in your scrubs?" I asked nonchalantly and was really asking if he was staying in Brazil.

"This coming Monday… I have to be reporting for duty at eight a.m., in four days time." Edward murmured gently.

"Oh…" I muttered as disappointment soured my stomach until I rethought my too vague question. "At what hospital?" I asked diffidently.

"The Metropolitan Emergency Hospital… Here in Belém." Edward clarified and released my hand to nervously rake his fingers through his hair. "They're one of our sister hospitals… which I didn't know until a week and a half ago. I'm here on a skills exchange… A Dr. Silva is being swapped into my role at Harborview." He expanded too rapidly.

I stopped woodenly at the edge of the large clearing that housed the main house and disguised laboratory buildings as the news that Edward was really staying with me in Brazil overwhelmed my thoughts and emotions. I sucked in a deep, shaky breath and stared blankly at the base of Edward's neck when he spun back to face me and lifted a trembling hand to cup my cheek.

"Bella? Okay, you have to talk to me… You have to tell me that this is alright." Edward murmured worriedly. "Angel, I'll make this alright." He promised in a whisper.

"How long is the exchange?" I robotically asked his shirt button.

"Twelve months." Edward muttered unhappily. "Bella, we—" He started in a raw attempt at a soothing voice.

"Can it be extended?" I interrupted his soft words.

"Um, no… I have to let them know if I'm not returning in ten months to give them time to find a replacement." Edward murmured with dawning hope in his voice. "Angel, does—" He began disbelievingly.

"Call them tomorrow… Your jumper cables are going to take at least two years… best case scenario." I muttered and then dodged past him to hurry towards the main house with shaking hands and threatening tears. "Add on five years for trialing and all that bullshit and you're going to have stay for at least seven years." I called back over my shoulder.

"Bella?" Edward called incredulously from the edge of the clearing.

"And I'm calling in that IOU tonight." I warned him loudly as I brushed at a traitorous tear that escaped from my eye.

I whirled to face the sound of light, speeding footsteps and laughed breathlessly when Edward caught me around my waist and spun me in a dizzying circle before he held me tightly against his chest with his face buried in my neck. I wrapped my arms around Edward's shoulders and pressed my cheek against his silky hair and inhaled a ragged breath before I mischievously stretched down and pinched Edward on his waist.

"Ow, fuck!" Edward protested with a gasping laugh as he twisted away from my hand.

"I was just helping you check if you were dreaming!" I defended myself quickly.

Edward laughed delightedly and then carefully lowered me to the ground before he bent down and kissed me tenderly with one hand on my lower back and his other hand reverently cradling my jaw. I hummed a moan in my throat and lifted my hands to the back of his neck and adoringly kissed him back as I pressed up into his comforting strength. Edward coaxed my lips and tongue to a deeper, passionate level before he groaned and lifted his mouth reluctantly to stare down into my blissful eyes.

"I'll take a rain-check until after dinner." Edward joked huskily.

I nodded happily and smoothed my hands down his strong body to his waist and then rested my head briefly against his chest.

"I can't believe this." I confessed in a whisper. "Ow, fuck!" I gasped as Edward pinched me sharply on my ass.

"In case you thought you were dreaming, Bella." Edward explained defensively as he raised his palms up to show his selfless generosity and innocence.

I huffed a pretend outraged breath and spun on my heels as I hid my smile and resumed walking quickly towards the main house. Edward laughed softly at my overacted reaction and jogged to catch up to me and immediately matched his stride to mine and placed his large palm against the small of my back. Edward and I strode swiftly around the front of the house to the steps leading up to the verandah before Edward eased his hand around to my opposite hip to gently slow my rapid pace. Edward ducked down and placed a soft kiss on my mouth before he withdrew his hand from my body and composedly walked up the stairs close to my side.

"I can't be grabbing at Chief Swan's daughter in front of Chief Swan." Edward murmured a whisper quiet explanation to my sideways glance. "He might still have his shotgun."

"Don't call him Sir… or Chief Swan." I warned under my breath. "Then he'll know you've fucked his daughter." I explained sweetly and then smirked into Edward's slightly widened eyes.

Sue swooped on us as soon as we stepped through the double doors into the large living space of the main house and I playfully narrowed my eyes at her expectant smile between me and Edward. My father, Charlie Swan, appeared at Sue's shoulder and coolly eyed Edward for a long second before he turned to me with one eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Dad, Sue, did you meet Edward earlier?" I asked smoothly.

"I did, of course." Sue smiled warmly at Edward.

"I was busy with Ang…" Charlie responded gruffly and made no effort to introduce himself.

"Oh… Dad, this is Dr. Edward Cullen. Edward, you must remember my dad, Chief Swan." I deliberately didn't use Charlie's first name in my introduction and quickly looked away from Edward's momentarily panicked look to hide my smile.

"Edward…" Charlie offered sternly with his held out hand.

"May I call you Charlie?" Edward murmured tentatively as he clasped Charlie's hand in a smooth handshake.

"Of course, all my friends do." Charlie grinned and let Edward know he had passed his test. "Sue tells me that you're joining us down here for at least a year." He added easily.

"That's right, Charlie… Bella has just told me that I'm joining you down here for at least seven years." Edward volunteered lightly and reached up to rest his palm in its home against the small of my back.

I cleared my throat over my laugh at Sue's suddenly wide, excited eyes and carefully schooled my expression to remain neutral as Charlie nodded thoughtfully and then drained his beer.

"Well, I suppose I had to expect that… Are you drinking beer or caipirinhas tonight, Edward?" Charlie accepted our news lightly.

"I would love a beer, Charlie. Jake said it was the humidity that makes it go down so easily." Edward chuckled.

I shot Edward a startled look when he smoothed his unseen hand down over my ass before he turned with Charlie towards the wet bar in the corner of the large room. I spun back to Sue and crossed my arms over my chest and then narrowed my eyes when Sue shifted her gaze away to scan around the room.

"Sue?" I quietly demanded an explanation for Edward's uninvited presence in my bungalow.

"Edward called me after he was sure he was able to stay… You were so unhappy after you got back from Vegas, Bella." Sue murmured as she watched Charlie and Edward walk swiftly towards their beers. "Seven years?" She asked excitedly.

I shrugged casually and then laughed softly when Sue squealed and grabbed me in a bear hug before we both stepped back and adjusted our clothes and flashed each other cool smiles. I laughed again and then pointed over to the bar and flashed Sue a wide smile when she tucked her hand under my elbow to walk over with me to get a cocktail. I was distracted as soon as I got my drink by Liam calling me over to mediate a passionate debate with Jasper, Jared, Sam and Quil about mandatory vaccination programs and wasn't able to extract myself until we were called to dinner. I hurried to Edward's side and breathed out an almost silent sigh of relief when he lifted his hand to my lower back before we both walked out to the long, trestle table set up on the verandah.

"You're father is a funny guy. He's taking us up the river to find an anaconda… He told Emmett that if we were lucky we'd get to see an Encantado." Edward murmured for only my ears.

"Maybe you're an Encantado. That would explain a few things… Do you still play the piano?" I asked slyly.

"Yes… If we build a bigger house, I'll ship down my piano… Maybe I could buy one down here." Edward mused quietly as he held my chair and slid it closer to the table as I sat down. "What would it explain, Bella?" Edward prompted silkily and I wondered if he knew the local legends about Encantados.

"Well… Encantado are usually thought to be Amazon River dolphins, Boto, or anacondas that can take human form. They're known for their superior musical ability and powers of seduction… and also their love of sex." I explained whisper quietly. "You've used your sneaky magic, shape-shifting ways on me, Edward Cullen." I accused him under my breath with pretended disbelief.

"That's funny, Bella Swan. I was just about to suggest that you shouldn't use your tricky jungle magic to ensnare innocent men. I never stood a chance." Edward returned with his mouth next to my ear.

I exhaled shakily when Edward brushed his wicked lips against my earlobe and I blushed faintly as a curl of desire settled in my core. Edward groaned almost silently and smoothed his palm down my thigh under the table and I bit down hard on my bottom lip to curtail my strong reaction to his simple touch. I quickly lifted Edward's plate and served him some Vatapá and Caruru then passed him a bowl of rice to serve himself from while I helped myself to the two dishes. Edward was distracted from torturing me when Maggie asked about his work as an ER doctor and I listened with growing awe as he talked with unconscious charm and passion about his career. Quil called down a question from where he was talking to Angela, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie and I gratefully diverted my focus to their discussion about our second product that was set to pass its US clinical trials in only a matter of days.

Our dinner passed quickly and I discovered that I could function normally with the beautiful, sexy, charming Edward Cullen sitting close enough for me to smell his delicious cologne and to hear his velvety, musical voice and laugh. I enjoyed our milled tapioca dessert and then carefully laid down my spoon when I was on the verge of feeling over full. I quietly added my own appreciation when everyone sent their compliments down the table to Sue and Emily for the fantastic food and then saw with sparking excitement that most of the dinner guests were preparing to leave.

"Bella? We need your lantern." Siobhan reminded me loudly from the other end of the table.

I nodded and turned to Edward and hid my frown when I saw him reluctantly turning his empty beer bottle in his hand.

"Um… I'm going to head home. You can borrow a flashlight off Charlie if you want to stay longer." I mumbled quietly.

"No… I probably should get some rest." Edward sighed and set his bottle down on the table. "I'll walk with you and the others." He added indifferently.

"Sure." I muttered curtly and pushed up abruptly from my chair.

I shot Edward a disbelieving look when he chuckled softly and I worked out that he had been teasing me before I dodged his hand and hurried to the railing where Jasper had left our wind up lantern. I began winding the crank rapidly as I counted slowly to thirty and then I turned on the bright LED lantern and walked over to the top of the stairs. Jake held out his hand for the lantern with a pointed look over to where Edward was watching me while he said goodnight to his parents and Sue and Charlie. I passed Jake the bright light and then stepped back to let the queued scientists follow him down the stairs and raised my hand to wave goodnight to the Cullens and my father and step-mother as Edward strode swiftly to my side.

"It's too soon for teasing, isn't it?" Edward murmured with his implied apology as he placed his palm against my back as we followed the lantern and scientists down the stairs.

"But not for overreacting…" I sighed my own apology.

"I was trying not to jump up from the table and run over to wait at the top of the stairs." Edward joked self-depreciatively.

"Oh… Smoothly played." I complimented him quietly.

"Thanks… How can I smoothly ask everyone to hurry the fuck up so we can get home?" He returned with an impatient gesture to the meandering scientists in front of us as we started down the path towards our bungalows.

I laughed softly and impulsively wrapped my arm around his lean waist and sighed happily when he snugged me closer into his strong body. Edward began asking quiet, gently probing questions that I returned in kind about our favorite foods, music and authors and we spent the rest of our too long walk superficially discovering each other's likes and dislikes. We followed the procession of happy, chattering scientists to each of their bungalows until we said goodnight to Jake and Seth at their verandah before Edward took our lantern from Jake and gently guided me back down their path.

I returned Edward's wicked smile when we both increased our speed to hurry back to our bungalow and I impatiently bounced on my toes when Edward stopped to unlock the French doors off our verandah. I slipped around Edward and walked through our dark home to the bedroom and then lit the hurricane lamp hanging in the open doors out to the bathroom with shaking hands. I drew in a tremulous breath when Edward stepped close behind me and gently pulled the elastic tie off the bottom of my braid and then carefully hooked his finger through my plait to loosen my hair down my back. I turned towards his strong body and met his dark eyes in the flickering lamp light and then slowly raised my hands to his shirt buttons.

Edward held my eyes trapped in his glowing gaze while I reverentially unbuttoned and removed his shirt and I wondered if he would hear and question my thundering heart. I trailed my hands down his bare chest and hard abs to the waistband of his chinos and eased open their clasp before I slowly lowered his zip over his straining hard-on. Edward hooked his boxers off his hips and pushed them down his thighs with his trousers and then unhurriedly stepped out of the fabric bunching around his ankles. I blushed faintly as I swept my eyes down his perfect, sculpted, aroused body and unconsciously licked my lips before I caught my bottom lip in my teeth when Edward groaned softly and raised a trembling hand to my jaw.

"You are so beautiful." Edward murmured huskily.

I lifted my hands to his strong chest and pressed up on my tiptoes as he slowly bent to kiss me and I moaned at the wild fire he ignited in my blood with just a simple caress of his heavenly lips. Edward swiftly unzipped my skirt as his mouth led mine to a wicked, playful place that I ecstatically matched and then greedily pushed to be harder, deeper and needier.

"You are so beautiful." Edward repeated as he dragged his mouth from mine and swiftly pulled my tank top over my head.

"You are." I returned as I sank my hands in his hair to pull his mouth back down.

Edward dropped his hands down to my ass and groaned into my mouth as he rocked his hard cock against my stomach and I melted against his body as our lips and tongues tantalized and teased our flaming desire. I twisted my mouth sideways and gasped a breath as Edward swept his hands up my back and deftly pinched my bra clasp open. I shook the straps off my arms and sucked in a sharp breath when Edward raised sure hands to cup my breasts and teased his thumbs across my hard nipples.

"You are so fucking beautiful." He muttered and sounded awed.

I pushed my lace thong down my legs and stepped out of my panties and skirt and then moved quickly to climb onto our bed. Edward was instantly at my side on the wide mattress and I smiled giddily into his crooked grin before he swooped down with a breathless laugh to catch my lips in a light, tempting kiss that I strained to match and coax for more. Our hands stroked and explored each other's bodies and I imagined Edward's fingers caressed my curves and skin with the same worshipful wonder as I traced the hard lines of his lean, sculpted body.

"Bella…" Edward groaned and sounded like his was invoking a goddess.

"Edward…" I acknowledged my own sense of awe.

I followed Edward's mouth as he drew away from me and sat up to lean against the headboard and I twisted onto my knees at his side to better return his kisses. I pressed into his strong hands on my breasts and then placed my hands on his shoulders and lifted my leg over his hips as Edward groaned into my mouth in anticipation of my next move. I reached down to hold Edward's rigid hard-on and then rubbed him against my wet seam and swallowed his growl that rumbled up from deep in his chest. I positioned him at my entrance and then sank down on his straining thickness and I nipped at his bottom lip when he tightened his fingers too strongly on my breasts.

"Sorry…" Edward apologized hoarsely and then dropped his forehead onto my shoulder as I rocked him deeper into my heat. "Ohhh, Bella… Please tell me you feel this too… Ahhhh, fuck." He groaned as I began sliding and grinding slowly on his hard length.

"I feel it." I panted next to his ear.

Edward lifted his head and caught my mouth in a drugging kiss as he moved his hands to smooth lines up and down my back. He bent his knees behind me and I groaned as his cocked rubbed against a magic spot inside me with his new position. Edward echoed my groan and then broke our kiss and dropped his mouth to my aching nipple and smoothed one palm around to mirror his lips' actions against my other breast. Edward drew his feet up closer to his gently pulsing hips and tightened his arm around my lower back and continued his divine caresses on my breasts.

"Can you lean back a little, angel?" Edward rasped around my nipple.

I stretched my back against his drawn up knees and then moaned loudly when his cock pressed against an electric spot on my front wall. My new position shortened my movements on Edward's cock and I gasped his name when he rocked into my heat and pulsed his swollen tip against the same magic area deep inside my body.

"That's it, angel… Mmmm." Edward groaned and thrust harder against my front wall.

"Fuck, Edward." I moaned and quickened my pulsing movements up and down his thick cock. "Edward…" I pleaded for more.

"Bella, you feel so good. Ahhh, like that, yeah… Ohhhh." Edward mumbled hoarsely as he buried his head in my neck. "I think we've found your G-Spot, angel." He gasped and then groaned as he matched my sharper pumps along his length.

My body temperature flashed higher as my arousal tightened my body around his shoving cock and I felt throbbing desire flood my sex as Edward's cock swelled impossibly bigger.

"Fuck, angel, you're so fucking wet. Ahhhh… Oh, Ah, Ah, fuck!" Edward grunted with his driving rhythm. "So hot, so wet, so fucking good… Fuck, Bella, just like that, angel." He groaned deeply.

My body tightened and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders as I felt my core start to clench and my limbs begin to quiver with the force of my looming climax. Edward moaned loudly against my neck and began pumping his engorged head against my G-Spot and I threw back my head with the electric ecstasy shaking my body.

"Edward!" I cried out as my orgasm flooded my body and I compulsively clamped my arms, thighs and sex around Edward.

"Ohhh, yeeaahhh! Fucking like that! FUCK!" Edward growled in a growing hoarse yell as he started wildly thrusting into my clenching tunnel. "FUCK, OHHHHH, FUUCCKKK!" He shouted incredulously.

I shook and trembled in Edward's arms as he raggedly pumped his shooting cock deep in my body with the end of his own climax before he rubbed his palms on my back in soothing circles as he rocked us both slowly to a gentle, sated stop. Edward raised his mouth from my neck and kissed me with a tender passion that made me close my eyes against my sudden, brimming tears. I shifted uncomfortably on Edward's hips when I realized his stomach and groin were drenched with slick, love fluids but relaxed when he drew me closer into his chest with his strong hands on my back.

"Bella…" Edward whispered against my lips. "You are so beautiful." He repeated again.

"You are so wet." I mumbled worriedly.

"Mmmm… Female ejaculation." Edward explained between sweet, reverent kisses. "It was fucking awesome… You are so beautiful." He reassured me tenderly.

"Um, wow… Okay, as soon as I can move we're going to shower." I muttered and fought not to blush.

"I'm happy like this… I'm holding a beautiful angel in my arms after the best hot, loving sex ever. There's no hurry." Edward murmured and stole my objection with his gentle kiss. "I would have fucked this up if I'd had the balls to ask you to drop your boyfriend for me in junior year." He told me lips between soft, teasing kisses.

"I don't understand…" I mumbled even as I tried to coax him to lengthen his broken, darting kisses.

"I've wanted this since the first day I saw you." Edward confessed and then deepened our kiss and reached one hand up into my hair to hold me against his mouth.

"But—" I started when he eventually freed my lips to gasp in a breath.

"But… I couldn't talk to you. Fuck, I couldn't breathe next to you." Edward muttered with his forehead pressed against mine. "Jake made Ben snort his rum through his nose tonight… Jake told me that he thought I was in the closet in high school because I was always shooting him death glares across the Forks High parking lot when he dropped you off at school. I hated him because he had you… and not because he made me want him bent over my silver Volvo." Edward admitted ruefully.

"You just destroyed one of his fantasies." I joked breathlessly against the feelings his stunning revelation stirred.

"So he told me… Ben was very distressed. One, because the rum burnt his nose, apparently." Edward chuckled and then kissed me ardently. "… And, two, because he blamed me for knowing, word-for-word, every song on your mix tape that you played on an endless loop during your study sessions with him and Ang." He added when he finally broke his mouth away from my lips.

"Fuck… Ben was the one who told you I love you?" I demanded in a miserable whisper.

"Loved… not love…?" Edward corrected me gently with a desperate, yearning hope in his husky murmur.

"Phew… That's okay, then." I tried to joke away my vulnerability.

"Bella…" Edward rebuked me softly. "Bella Swan, you're my every hope and my every fantasy… I was miserable when I thought you had just walked away from our one night together like it didn't mean everything. I was destroyed." He muttered quietly.

"I've been like a ghost for the last fortnight… Everyone kept asking me what was wrong with me… I couldn't tell them that I'd made a huge mistake and given away my heart during one night in Vegas." I admitted my feelings without naming the emotion.

"I've been like a desperate, mad man… I feel better now that I'm home at last." Edward murmured his own raw confession.

"Home." I agreed as I pressed against his lips.

Edward groaned and wrapped his arms around my body as he claimed my lips in a heady, powerful kiss that erased all my doubts and hesitations and I snuggled closer to his body in my home in his arms. Edward tightened his arms around me and deepened our mouths' caress and I knew that he felt the same strong connection that would keep us bound together for the rest of our lives.

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**A/N**

Irmão = 'brother' in Portuguese

Vatapá and Caruru = both delicious sounding dishes popular in the north of Brazil (where Bella's secret lair is fictionally based)

Pha Sin = traditional, long tube skirt worn in Thailand and Laos.

Caipirinha =

* 50ml of cachaça, half lime (cut into 4 wedges), 2 tsp crystal or refined sugar, crushed ice  
* Muddle (mash) lime and sugar in bottom of glass, fill glass with ice and add cachaça  
* Enjoy while daydreaming about Dr. Edward Cullen… *sighs*

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End file.
